Israeli Team Develops Device That Shortens Chest-Tube Insertion Time

A team in Israel has developed a device that shortens the amount of time it takes to insert a chest tube from 10 minutes to less than 30 seconds.

ThoraXS allows for quick access to the pleural space separating the lung from the chest wall. It was developed by a team from Hebrew University’s Alexander Grass Center for Bioengineering, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Hadassah Medical Center.

ThoraXS’s market potential is estimated at $300 million annually, says Yaakov Nahmias, director of the Hebrew University’s Alexander Grass Center for Bioengineering.

Innovations produced by the Biodesign program participants are commercialized by Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Hadasit, the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Center. — Jonathon Shacat