Israeli Innovation Fast-Tracked to Treat Coronavirus Patients

CoughSync does not cure coronavirus but can significantly impact the treatment of those suffering from pneumonia, a symptom of the illness, and reduce the exposure of healthcare workers to the contagion.

By United with Israel Staff

With China’s National Health Commission confirming Sunday that at least 70,600 people are infected with the coronavirus (now called Covid-19) and over 1,775 have died from the flu-like resporatory illness, a device developed in Israel that simulates coughing to ease the removal of bronchial secretions is being fast-tracked for production in Beijing.

Called “CoughSync,” the non-invasive product helps speed patient recovery, frees up medical staff and reduces the dangers of contagions.

CoughSync was developed 10 years ago by Dr. Eliezer Be’eri,director of the Department of Respiratory Rehabilitation at Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem, a pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation facility. He originally developed it to relieve lung congestion in physically challenged and disabled children, adolescents and young adults unable to cough by themselves and clear phlegm. However, he realized that such a system is needed to help adult patients on ventilators in intensive care units as well.

The device is attached to a ventilator, saving caregivers the extra work of removing and inserting tubes. “Removing the ventilator manually takes overworked healthcare staff far more time than an automatic system and also exposes them to more risk of catching the virus,” Dr. Be’eri said. “This is what makes it so suitable for treating coronavirus patients with pneumonia.”

The current system for clearing phlegm from a patient’s airway is to have a nurse disconnect the ventilation machine and use a catheter to suction secretions. This is both a time-consuming procedure and can cause complications, such as bleeding and damage to airwaves, according to Dr. Be’eri. Patients treated with CoughSync can be weaned off ventilators sooner and discharged earlier.

He explained that “CoughSync is a more natural and far less invasive alternative. The patient doesn’t need to cough, instead the device replicates what a cough would do and this artificial cough takes all the secretions out.”

With reports of Covid-19 spreading worldwide, the need for the Israeli innovation has never been greater. CoughSync was originally licensed by the Jerusalem based Innovent Medical Solutions to develop a working model of the device. Three years ago, Ruxin Medical Systems in Beijing took over development.

Ruxin is working to speed-up approval for production and use of CoughSync by China’s regulatory body, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), the Chinese equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration. According to Israel21c, “Once Ruxin has approval, the company will manufacture devices for China, and Innovent will begin marketing the device in Israel and Europe. The device is already approved for use in Europe.”

Dr. Be’eri made clear that CoughSync does not cure coronavirus. Rather, it can significantly impact the treatment of those suffering from pneumonia, a symptom of the illness, and reduce the exposure of healthcare workers to the contagion.

Should the device get approval, it is expected to become available in the next few months.