The winners of this year’s edition of the Silesian Innovator competition, the idea of which is to promote and reward the most innovative Silesian entrepreneurs and scientists, have been announced. The University of Silesia in Katowice received a special award of the Upper Silesian Agency for Entrepreneurship and Development Ltd. for developing a system for extracorporeal blood oxidation, with an original design, material and membrane.
Scientists working in the TWAIN research group led by Andrzej Swinarew, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof., in cooperation with scientists from the Medical University of Silesia and the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, have developed a series of inventions that will save lives. Their solutions have been designed with the use of the ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) technique consisting in supplying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide generated in the body of the patient whose lungs have stopped working.
– The technique of blood oxygenation requires the use of a special device. It is an invasive method. The existing solutions had some disadvantages. One of the problems was the formation of blood clots which sometimes blocked the special tubes responsible for gas exchange, which made it difficult to work long enough, explains Prof. Andrzej Swinarew.
Therefore, the scientists have redesigned the components of the device used in the ECMO method to make its operation safer for the patient.
– We have to remember that ECMO is used when other methods of saving the life of a patient with lung failure fail. Thanks to our inventions, we will not only be able to prevent blood clots in the canals, but also reduce oxidative stress thanks to the possibility of administering a lower oxygen concentration – comments Ewa Trejnowska, PhD, from the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze, the co-author of the inventions.
In turn, pulmonologist Szymon Skoczyński, PhD, adds that the new solutions used in the project may improve the results of treatment of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. – We can expect an improvement in the results not only in the acute phase of the disease, but also in the treatment of complications – emphasises the doctor.
The interdisciplinary team working on the solution includes scientists from the University of Silesia: Andrzej Swinarew, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof.; Jadwiga Gabor, MSc; Hubert Okła, PhD; Mateusz Przybyła, MSc Eng.; Barbara Szpikowska-Sroka, PhD; Magdalena Popczyk, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof.; as well as Ewa Trejnowska, PhD; Szymon Skoczyński, PhD; Prof. Grzegorz Brożek; Agnieszka Skoczyńska, PhD; Prof. Piotr Knapik; Tomasz Darocha, PhD, DSc; Konrad Mendrala, MD; Prof. Katarzyna Mizia-Stec from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Prof. Michał Zembala from the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze and Arkadiusz Stanula, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor of the the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice.
Two other inventions co-authored by prof. Andrzej Swinarew, were also awarded in previous editions of the Silesian Innovator competition. In 2019, the two-way mouthpiece for collecting the respiratory phase together with the background material was appreciated, while in 2020 the device for selective collection and storage of gaseous phase was awarded.
The Silesian Innovator competition aims to award entrepreneurs and research and development institutions that undertake innovative changes by introducing technologies, new products or services that achieve business or scientific successes. The competition is organised by the Upper Silesian Agency for Entrepreneurship and Development as part of the ‘Enterprise Europe Network’ project.
The award was collected by: (from the left) Andrzej Swinarew, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof from the University of Silesia, and Ewa Trejnowska, PhD from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, who also co-operates with the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze and Szymon Skoczyński, PhD from the Medical University of Silesia | photo: private archive of Prof. A. Swinarew