ALung Technologies said it raised a $15.8 million Series B1 round it plans to use to accelerate the commercialization of its Hemolung respiratory assist device.

The Pittsburgh-based medical device company said the round was led by Allos Ventures and included West Capital Partners, Birchmere Ventures, BlueTree Capital Group, PLSG Accelerator Fund, Smithfield Trust Company and several private investors.

"We appreciate the support of our new investment partners, along with our current investors, and their belief in the potential for the Hemolung RAS to help the large number of patients suffering from acute respiratory failure," chairman & CEO Peter DeComo said in prepared remarks. "This new capital represents a strong vote of confidence in ALung. In addition to supporting our global launch of the Hemolung RAS, this financing will permit further development of next-generation products and platform technologies for providing less-invasive extracorporeal lung support."

The Hemolung device is an extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal system that works by removing carbon dioxide and delivering oxygen directly to a patient’s blood via a small catheter inserted into the jugular or femoral vein. It’s already on the market in Germany, France and the U.K., according to a press release.

ALung, which raised a $14 million Series A round in 2010 and another $10 million in a Series B round last year, said it’s also pursuing other markets via 3rd-party distributors. The company said earlier this year that it is also going after approval from Chinese regulatory authorities for the Hemolung device.