The COVID-19 virus continues to ravage throughout the globe, sending countless patients into intensive care, increasing the need for respiratory treatment from ventilator machines. However, also increasing the risks involved with intubated patients

The ventilator may be a potentially life-saving piece of equipment but doesn’t come free of danger. As more and more patients are in need of intubation, being hooked up to a ventilator due to the ill effects of the virus, one Israeli innovation is looking to offer a hardware solution to the potential dangers lurking from the ventilator machine, essentially reducing mechanical ventilation complications.

Israeli MedTech startup, Hospitech Respiration, which was founded in 2006 by CTO Israel Deutsch and Dr. Shai Efrati Inventor and Scientific Director, has developed a respiratory guard system called AnapnoGuard that reduces complications caused by the ventilator system and significantly minimizes exposure of medical staff to an infected patient. As in all ventilated patients, a prolonged stay in the hospital can lead to numerous infections caused strictly by the ventilating process and machine failure. The company claims that based on recent research that almost 50% of COVID patients who died from the virus also experienced a secondary underlying bacterial or fungal infection. This is exactly where the AnapnoGuard comes into play as a complementary product that works alongside the ventilator to better automate airflow and remove subglottic secretions. Furthermore, the company notes that also in patients who have already developed an infection the device can alleviate symptoms and actually shorten recovery time.

The AnapnoGuard has received FDA, CE, and CFDA approval with hundreds of patients in China, Israel, and the U.S already receiving the treatment especially with the increase of COVID-19 patients. The company has found success with other products as well due to the COVID-19 outbreak, like the AG Cuffill which is part of the AnapnoGuard system, but found itself in high demand because of the extreme circumstances.

In a talk with Geektime Hospitech Respiration CEO Yoav Venkert refers to the AG Cuffill product when saying  “over the past months, since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen a significant rise in sales of this device, which we attribute to the high number of ventilated patients all over the globe and the critical need for single-patient use devices to avoid cross-contamination.” Even though the company has had products in use in the states since 2019, Hospitech Respiration is looking to further expand its outreach in the U.S., specifically due to the sharp increase in intubated patients due to the Coronavirus.

Venkert continued to add:  “We expect that following the COVID-19 crisis, special attention will be focused on the challenges of treating ventilated patients, whether it is the need to reduce ventilation complications or the need for minimizing the exposure of the medical teams to contamination. The AnapnoGuard system as well as the AG Cuffill will become the standard of care in many hospitals in the US as well in other parts of the world.”