COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the first time, researchers can directly compare the different types of lung injuries caused by mechanical ventilation.

A new study from The Ohio State University introduces a “ventilator-on-a-chip” model that mimics lung injury and recovery, using human cells.

According to the researchers, the biggest harm to lung cells comes from the stress caused by air sacs collapsing and reopening repeatedly. The model aims to provide a clearer picture of how injuries develop in ventilated patients.

“The initial damage is purely physical, but the processes after that are biological in nature – and what we’re doing with this device is coupling the two," Co-lead author Samir Ghadiali, professor and chair of Biomedical Engineering at Ohio State, said.

The goal of this research is to enhance the understanding of ventilator-induced lung injuries and identify potential treatment options.

"This is an important advance in the field that will hopefully allow for a better understanding of how lung injury develops in mechanically ventilated patients and identification of therapeutic targets so that we can give drugs to prevent that kind of injury or treat it when it happens," Co-lead author Dr. Joshua Englert, associate professor of pulmonary medicine at Ohio State, said.

While ventilators are essential for patients with severe respiratory problems, they can also damage lung cells and cause leakage in the blood-air barrier. This can lead to fluid buildup in the lungs and cause complications in oxygen delivery. According to Ghadiali, the model can measure real-time changes in lung cells.

Future research will focus on modeling lung injuries from conditions like pneumonia and trauma in ICU patients, allowing for a deeper understanding of complex lung issues.

“We’re in the early stages of developing some of those models, diving a little bit deeper into the complexity of lung injury in ICU patients,” Englert said. “This model is a platform we can build upon.”