Critical Care Innovation Incubator

CapnoSense® is an AI-enabled clinical decision support tool designed to improve the quality and safety of bag-mask ventilation (BMV) in pediatric patients. Up to 20% to 32% of pediatric intubations are complicated by adverse events, and poor BMV quality increases this risk by 2 to 3 times.

The goal of this work was to develop a tool that leverages exhaled CO₂ and machine learning to assess breath quality and provide real-time, actionable feedback during pediatric BMV. By transforming an underutilized physiologic signal into continuous guidance, CapnoSense® aims to improve airway management, enhance training, and reduce preventable complications in critically ill children.

The next phase of the project will focus on iterative prototype and user interface development, early usability testing to optimize how clinicians interpret and respond to this feedback in practice, and ultimately clinical validation to assess the impact on provider performance of BMV.

Miniaturized Respiratory Assist (MiRA) is a new class of artificial lung that is miniaturized, easy to use, and designed to enable earlier respiratory support in any ICU. MiRA works similarly to dialysis: blood flows along hollow fiber membranes where O₂ and CO₂ are exchanged. With unrivaled performance and increased safety with smaller cannulas and lower blood flows, MiRA features a small, flow-optimized artificial lung and a pressure-controlled gas management system that protects the heart and lungs from invasive lung ventilation‒related stress and strain, keeps patients awake with sustained spontaneous breathing, and enables faster recovery and weaning.

Clinical data show that when extracorporeal support is used to avoid or shorten mechanical ventilation, there are reductions in ventilation duration, ICU stay, infections, and mortality. MiRA is designed to make this level of support accessible beyond specialized centers for the majority of patients with acute respiratory failure treated in standard ICUs.

Financing is currently being raised to support the regulatory clearance of the MiRA membrane lung and controller, followed by first-in-human clinical feasibility as the milestone.

echoSURE® is a portable nasogastric feeding tube placement verification system using real-time biofeedback to confirm proper placement. It consists of a disposable attachment containing a buzzer system that connects to the proximal end of the inserted feeding tube and emits a continuous audio signal. An external acoustic sensor array is placed on the patient's upper body to collect the sound data. These data are then transferred and processed to provide accurate and fast verification to nurses and clinicians, significantly reducing complications and streamlining workflow.

Next steps include finalizing the minimum viable product along with regulatory and market strategies. Animal testing will continue to further validate the device.

Boppli® for infants and Bosimi® for adults are wearable, noninvasive medical devices that provide continuous, noninvasive, and accurate blood pressure information. These wireless, comfortable devices enable real-time monitoring without the risks of invasive methods. Clinicians report improved patient care and high usability ratings among nurses. Boppli® reduces infant pain by avoiding invasive lines, lowers costs, decreases nursing workload, and delivers more accurate readings than cuffs, positioning it as a potential new standard of care in blood pressure monitoring.

Boppli® is uniquely positioned as the only FDA-cleared solution for young children. The broader Bosimi® platform for adults extends this opportunity over time through a common hardware/software platform and a “razor blade” model of recurring single-use devices across multiple care settings.

Atrium Health Navicent is leading a sustained, evidence-based initiative to improve the safety and consistency of insulin dosing for children experiencing life-threatening hyperglycemic emergencies, including diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemia. Planned next steps include multicenter data generation, standardization of care pathways, and regulatory and evidence development.

This initiative aims to move from early evidence to broader clinical impact by supporting frontline teams, reducing unwarranted variation in high-risk metabolic emergencies, and advancing safer, more standardized insulin management for children. Alignment with SCCM’s mission ensures that these efforts remain clinically grounded, evidence driven, and centered on improving outcomes for the most vulnerable pediatric patients.