FURI | Spring 2020

Development of Surgical Device to Aid in the Decortication Procedure for a Trapped Lung

Infections, pulmonary embolisms, autoimmune disorders, lung cancer, and surgeries can lead to a fibinous pleuritic, or inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the lungs. This can trap the lung, preventing it from expanding. Decortication procedures peeling off the fibrous tissue are time-consuming, unstandardized, and unquantified. The team is developing a combinatorial approach using ultrasound to detect and quantify the fibrous tissue layer to effectively free the trapped lung. The team developed a porcine trapped lung model and demonstrated ultrasound can effectively detect the lung surface. Further tests will determine the safety and effectiveness of tissue removal with the model.