A Box is Not Just a Box: towards AI-powered chest drainage therapy

Abstrakt: Adequate drainage of the thoracic cavity from air and fluid is the cornerstone of good postoperative management. While several chest drainage systems are commercially available worldwide, their performances vary dramatically and can even result in serious postoperative complications. The pathophysiology of the pleural space has been considered an obscure topic for decades and many doctors still rely on knowledge that is based on empirical observations rather than on substantial scientific evidence. As a consequence, over the last 30 years the evolution of chest drainage systems has not been done with proper guidance. This makes pursuing evidence based treatments a great challenge. Furthermore, lung surgery patients encompass a wider spectrum of diseases than what was previously considered feasible, e.g. surgery is now offered more often to patients with pulmonary fibrosis or emphysema. These are high-risk patients and, as such, should be the first to be considered for tailored chest drainage therapies. The market lacks a chest drainage system capable to provide personalized therapy. The BreatheCore System aims to offer real-time, patient-specific, data analytics capable to modulate the postoperative thoracic functional status of any patient. For the very first time, doctors and patients would benefit from custom chest drainage therapy therefore maximizing patient safety & hospital profit.