RAS-Q: bringing care home for COPD patients
HomeCare@COPD will improve intensive care at home for people with lung-disease by using patient insights to enhance RAS-Q, the so-called “lung in a backpack”. The world’s first portable respiratory assist device for long-term COPD treatment, RAS-Q was developed with support from EIT Health. This project will make the product even better suited to home use.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive, life threatening lung disease characterised by breathlessness and coughing. There are 250 million COPD patients worldwide, and it is the fourth most common cause of death, responsible for 3 million fatalities a year. HomeCare@COPD aims to take advantage of the innovative RAS-Q device to help improve all proccesses neccessary to increase quality of life for the COPD patient population.
Team
HomeCare@COPD is led by Universitätsklinikum Aachen, a modern centre for high-performance medicine, and RWTH Aachen, which provides project management knowledge and clinical research. Universite Grenoble Alpes is specialised in the treatment of COPD patients, and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, a partner university of RWTH, is well-known for the supervision of animal trials. Enmodes GmbH, developer of RAS-Q, provides deep scientific knowledge and business development experience.
The project
This project seeks to use patient input to improve the experience of home users of RAS-Q, which was developed in 2017 with EIT Health support. Described as a “lung in a backpack”, RAS-Q is a device to provide respiratory assistance and is specifically designed for long-term treatment of COPD patients. Unlike previous oxygenators, the wearable device is able to mimic the pulmonary function beyond mere oxygenation and decarboxylation. Its extremely low resistance and compliance allow for a passive lung substitute without the necessity of a blood pump.
The long-term goal of RAS-Q has always been to transition COPD patients safely from hospitals to homecare. To achieve this, HomeCare@COPD generates feedback and insights from COPD patients. Based on these findings, peripherals, including the carrier system, are developed to optimise the product so it better meets the demands of patients.
Additionally, the project evaluates the long-term durability and optimal anticoagulation strategy, in-vitro and in-vivo, taking necessary steps to allow for homecare treatment. HomeCare@COPD aims to improve all proccesses neccessary to increase quality of life for the COPD patient population.
Impact
By improving on the RAS-Q innovation, HomeCare@COPD can allow for homecare for the large cohort of COPD patients. The project empowers patients to improve their own care through interactions with researchers. It can dramatically improve the quality of life for patients and their families because it gives patients greater independence. It also helps patients, as well as the medical system and payers, by significantly reducing hospital stays.
Why this is an EIT Health project
HomeCare@COPD and the RAS-Q product it seeks to improve promise to increase the possibilities of homecare for COPD patients, which is in keeping with the EIT Health Focus Area of “Bringing Care Home”. Because it offers improved treatment of people with COPD, this innovation is also in line with the Focus Area of improving care pathways.
External Partner
- Enmodes GmbH
With RAS-Q, it is our mission to provide therapies for patients suffering from COPD and other lung diseases. … It is our duty and our passion to see this development through into the clinical arena. RAS-Q will not only allow us to treat millions of patients, we will also disrupt the pulmonary market.
Prof. Dr. Tim Kaufmann, Co-Founder and CEO Enmodes GmbH
Partners
CLC/InnoStars: Belgium-Netherlands
Partner classification: Education, Research
Partner type: Associate Partner
KU Leuven (together with University Hospitals Leuven) is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out excellence-driven research in health and care and is dedicated to build bridges between science, society and industry.
CLC/InnoStars: Germany
Partner classification: Education, Research, Tech Transfer, Clusters, Other NGOs, Hospital / University Hospital
Partner type: Associate Partner
RWTH Aachen University and its hospital (focus on patient-oriented medicine & nursing care) provide leading research, innovation and education within the core themes of EIT Health. Our industry-need-driven competence centres foster entrepreneurship
RWTH Aachen University
RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany
Key Activities in Research and Developement
Biomedical engineering, Life Sciences, Social sciences / health economics, Clinical research
Key Activities in Business Creation
Incubation, Technology Transfer, Testing & Validation
Key Activities in Education
Entrepreneurship training, Technical faculties, Medical faculties, Healthcare professional education/training
CLC/InnoStars: France
Partner classification: Education, Research, Tech Transfer, Clusters, Other NGOs
Partner type: Core Partner
The UGA in Grenoble is a leading University of Science Technology and Health. Within 80 multidisciplinary laboratories, the UGA is developing outstanding research at national and international level. The UGA offers a wide range of training courses, from bachelor to doctorate, in close connection with the socio-professional environment to promote the integration of its students.
Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)
621 Avenue Centrale, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères
Key Activities in Research and Developement
Biomedical engineering, Life science, Social sciences /health economics
Key Activities in Corporate Innovation
Pharma, Med Tech, ICT, Diagnostics, Imaging, Nutricion
Key Activities in Business Creation
Incubation, Technology Transfer, Business coaching
Key Activities in Education
Entrepreneurship training, Technical faculties, Medical faculties, Healthcare professional education/training