Waltham, Massachusetts-based Paragonix received FDA clearance for the BAROguard donor lung preservation system in August. It offers an alternative to the current practices. These practices see donor lungs preserved and transported from an inflated state between donor and recipient. Those current organ recovery techniques fail to reliably maintain and control inflation pressures.
The company designed it to combine its existing advanced hypothermic preservation technology with automated continuous and active airway pressure control. This ensures that the system maintains an optimal temperature range and a clinically recommended inflation pressure range. It maintains this for donor lungs throughout the journey from donor to recipient patient.
Dr. Kunal Patel of Duke University Medical Center protected a pair of lungs across 600 miles in the initial case. BAROguard actively preserved and monitored donor lungs for more than six hours to provide a life-saving transplant.
“This exciting milestone serves as a testament to the BAROguard System’s potential to revolutionize lung preservation and transport,” said Lisa Anderson, CEO and president of Paragonix Technologies. “We will continue to push the boundaries of innovation to provide more advanced tools for healthcare professionals and better outcomes for patients.”
More about Paragonix Technologies’ BAROguard
BAROguard builds on the company’s previous cardiothoracic and abdominal preservation technologies. It’s the first commercially available hypothermic preservation system equipped to automatically control the airway pressure of donor lungs when outside the body during preservation and transportation.
The new technology ensures that lungs avoid the traditional risks that occur during transport, Paragonix says. It consistently remains within the optimal temperature range and adheres to the clinically recommended inflation pressure range. Real-time transmission of temperature and airway pressure data offers full visibility into lung condition during transport, too.
Paragonix said Patel specifically requested BAROguard for this transplant.
“This is an exciting time in the field of transplantation to address preservation conditions that were previously not controllable,” he said. “We are steadfast in our commitment to advancing patient care, and our team is at the forefront of exploring and utilizing new technologies.”
