NuAIR stent: A respiratory stent inspired by nature, achieved through cutting edge architecture and engineering

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Airway obstructions cause breathlessness and difficulty swallowing. They occur in up to 30%of lung cancer patients, where prognosis is often poor and palliative treatment the only option.Additionally, there were over 2,000 patients suffering from tracheomalacia (collapsed airway)and stenosis (abnormal narrowing of the airway) in the UK last year.The current gold standard treatment for airway obstruction is surgical resection. However,surgery is an invasive, time consuming procedure and complications such as infection mayarise during recovery. An alternative is to use Airway stents, hollow cylindrical prosthesesthat provide support. They can be deployed without surgery and provide significant relieffrom the discomfort associated with an obstructed airway, a marked increase in quality of life,and in many cases a prolonged lifespan.There are a number of Airway stents on the market, including silicone, metal and hybridstents. Each of these have significant shortcomings. Silicone stents tend to migrate and requirere positioning. Metal stents have a risk of airway perforation and are very difficult to removeor reposition. Hybrid stents are significantly more expensive than either silicone or metalstents. There is a growing, unmet need for the perfect Airway stent.We propose to create NuAIR, an Airway stent customised for patients that possesses all thecharacteristics of the perfect stent. It will be made using biocompatible collagen and asynthetic polymer to meet the physiological demands of the trachea. The design will beinspired by structural architecture found in nature. This will result in a stent that is strong yetflexible, using the minimal amount of material. NuAIR will be made by 3D-printing, a fastand cost effective method. Most importantly, this will allow customisation of stents based oncomputerised-tomography (CT) scans of individual patients. This will reduce unwantedmovement and increase comfort – key components of the ideal stent.