Emphysema Treated with Minimally Invasive Stents

A new treatment offers a minimally invasive alternative to lung volume-reduction surgery in a broad range of emphysema patients.

The RePneu Lung Volume Reduction Coil (LVRC) system is intended to improve lung function in emphysema patients by bronchoscopically implanting Nitinol coils into the lungs to compress diseased tissue, restore elastic recoil, and adjust lung compliance. The RePneu LVRC is preformed into a coil shape, but is delivered to the lung in a straight configuration, through a bronchoscope. When the coil is deployed into the lung, it recovers to its original coil shape, gathering and compressing diseased tissue and allowing the healthy tissue to function better. The procedure is performed under conscious sedation or general anesthesia, and does not require any surgical incision.

The system has proven effective in patients with both heterogeneous and homogeneous disease, in both the upper and lower lobes, and works independently of collateral ventilation. The safety profile of the RePneu LVRC System is comparable to that of a simple bronchoscopy procedure, with the majority of adverse results occurring, and resolving, within 30 days of treatment. Patients generally return home from the hospital the day after the treatment.

Extensive clinical studies in Europe have shown that the majority of subjects who underwent RePneu LVRC treatment experienced significant improvement in lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life (QOL) with minimal risk; 74% of all clinical subjects maintained the improvement in exercise capacity at 12 months post-treatment, and 96% experienced significant improvement in quality of life. The RePneu LVRC System is a product of PneumRx (Mountain View, CA, USA), and has received the European Community CE Marking of approval.

“It has been so gratifying to see the benefits the RePneu LVRC treatment has brought to emphysema patients in Europe, and we are especially pleased to be able to bring these benefits to a greater number of patients suffering from this debilitating disease here in the United States,” said Erin McGurk, President and CEO of PneumRx, upon receiving US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to commence a 30-site pivotal clinical trial to support a premarket application.

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