SBIR Phase I: Preventing Pneumothorax During Lung Biopsy Using Novel Hydrogel

The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project addresses the important unmet clinical need of enabling interventional radiologists to prevent pneumothorax (collapsed lung) during transthoracic lung biopsies. Annually, over 1.2 million transthoracic lung biopsies are performed worldwide for lung cancer diagnosis (400,000 in the US). Pneumothorax (PTX), a collapsed lung, is the most common complication of this procedure, occurring in 20-40% of all transthoracic lung biopsies. More than half of PTX turn symptomatic and require an invasive chest tube insertion, the definitive treatment for PTX. This complication costs, on an average, $15,000 per chest tube insertion and $1.3 billion worldwide to treat. This turns a same-day diagnostic procedure into a costly multi-day hospitalization. The research objectives of the proposed project are to evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility of using a biopolymer sealant and novel access/delivery device to seal needle tracts to prevent PTX during transthoracic lung biopsies. Further, in-vitro and in-vivo preliminary biocompatibility of the material as well as efficacy of the delivery device as compared to the current standard of care will be investigated. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.