IntelliLung 2.0

Mechanical ventilation represents one of the most relevant therapies to support organ function in the intensive care unit, as well as in the operating room. Inappropriate mechanical ventilation settings in intensive care patients are associated with organ damage. Currently, there are different strategies to protect the lungs from injury by the ventilator. Yet, settings may differ substantially regarding to the mechanical energy transferred to lungs, and its distribution across the parenchyma. Artificial intelligence can be used to learn from experts in mechanical ventilation in an attempt to accomplish lung support with reduced risk of damage.
About
Invasive mechanical ventilation is one of the most important and life-saving therapies in the intensive care unit (ICU). In most severe cases, when mechanical ventilation alone is insufficient, extracorporeal lung support is initiated. However, mechanical ventilation is recognised as potentially harmful, because inappropriate MV settings in ICU patients are associated with organ damage, contributing to disease burden. Studies revealed that mechanical ventilation is often not properly provided despite clear evidence and guidelines. Variables at the ventilator and extracorporeal lung support device can be set automatically using optimization functions and clinical recommendations, but the handling of experts may still deviate from those settings depending upon clinical characteristics of individual patients. Artificial intelligence can be used to learn from those deviations as well as the patient’s condition in an attempt to improve the combination of settings and accomplish lung support with reduced risk of damage.
Furthermore, treatment decisions by the healthcare providers, especially regarding MV and ELS, often remain incomprehensible to the patients and their relatives, since flow of information from caregivers to patients is challenged by a number of factors, including limited time and resources, communication problems as well as patients capacity to comprehend and memorise information.
Our Vision
The project proposed aims at clinically validating and extending our IntelliLung Artificial Intelligence Decision Support System (AI-DSS) designed to optimise MV and ELS settings to improve the care of ICU patients, alongside caregiver-patient communication. Thereby, best practice evidence-based MV and ELS within safer therapy corridors for longer periods, faster weaning from MV, and improved survival could be achieved – even in non-experienced hands. Additionally, this project will improve the information flow from caregivers to patients and relatives in the ICU setting. Therefore, we will develop a digital solution that allows automatic generation of an extensive plain-language information package for patients and their relatives, communicating highly individualised information on diseases and knowledge-based disease-management strategies, thus facilitating high-quality current and subsequent care through health literacy empowerment and patient-centeredness. We will perform a retrospective and prospective multi-centre study to validate our IntelliLung AI-DSS and the patient information software.


Project Coordination
Dr. Jakob Wittenstein
TU Dresden | University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine
Public Relations
PR Team
EKFZ for Digital Health
Technische Universität Dresden
Consortium members
The Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) is one of the leading and most dynamic universities in Germany. As a full-curriculum university with 17 faculties in five schools it offers a broad variety of 124 disciplines and covers a wide research spectrum. Since 2012 TUD is a German University of Excellence.
The European Project Center (TUD-EPC) is part of the central administration of the Technische Universität Dresden and provides advice about European programs for research funding, training and third country co-operation. Our team has far-reaching knowledge of EU funding policy and extensive experience in implementing the individual programs and actions. In addition to consulting on funding, our key competences lie in administrative project management.
The Coordination Centre for Clinical Trials (Koordinierungszentrum für Klinische Studien) Dresden, as a qualified partner for clinical research, is an institution of the Faculty of Medicine of the Technische Universität Dresden. KKS Dresden supports scientists and clinicians in performing clinical trials with investigational medicinal or medical products due to the EU regulations no. 536/2014 and no. 2017/745 and European data protection regulation. Consulting, regulatory aspects, risk-based quality management, trial management, statistical planning and evaluation, monitoring and data management are tasks of KKS Dresden for GCP and ISO 14155 conform supporting of clinical trials. Beside this the KKS Dresden is responsible for the training of investigators and trial personal.
The University Hospital combines 26 clinics and polyclinics, six institutes and 17 interdisciplinary centers that work closely with the clinical and theoretical institutes of the Faculty of Medicine. Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine is focused on safeguarding and protecting organ function. The physicians and scientists pursue the goal of making research translational and clinically relevant.
Better Care provides medical device integration solutions and clinical data analysis. Better Care is a trailblazing company that has led the way in the collection, management and processing of clinical data.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Clinic is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States. It’s mission is caring for life, researching for health and educating those who serve.
DAMB is a full-service engineering company that is active in many markets, including high-tech systems & materials and life sciences & health. To that end, we develop, manufacture and supply high-end technology, innovative products and complex systems, from prototypes and one-offs to volume production. DAMB is part of the DEMCON group. Within IntelliLung, DAMB participates as affiliated entity of her sister company DEMCON Macawi Respiratory Systems.
Macawi Respiratory Systems is a Demcon company supplying innovative respiratory technology. By having the access to Demcon’ s extensive source of engineering knowledge, Macawi has grown to be a well-known supplier for many ventilator companies all over the world.
ESAIC is the leading European Organisation for Anaesthesia, Intensive Care, Pain and Perioperative Medicine. Their network of over 800 European hospitals and research partners around the world has produced and published multiple highly acclaimed studies. ESAIC can offer all A-CRO services including in house data management, project management and use of the PAN-European unique research network.

The Institute for Applied Informatics e. V. (InfAI) was founded in 2006 for the purpose of promoting science and research in the fields of informatics and business informatics. Since 2008, the institute has been a recognized affiliated institute of the University of Leipzig and has since developed into one of the largest and most third-funded research institutes at the University. The institute’s more than 170 employees work on national and international innovative research and industry projects, with a focus on big data, knowledge management, artificial intelligence, deep learning and service research.
“Was hab’ ich?” (WHI) has been working in the field of physician-patient communication for over 10 years, providing thousands of patients with easy-to-understand health information in numerous ways. The non-profit-organisation cooperates with a wide network of other organisations and players within the healthcare sector. Our prior work has shown that written, plain-language documents received directly from the respective hospital are especially helpful to ensure continuous information flow to children, spouses or other relatives acting as informal caregivers