From left to right: Josep Maria Campistol, CEO of Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Manel del Castillo, CEO of Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Antonio Vila Bertrán, CEO of ”la Caixa” Foundation, Eduard Gratacós, Director of BCNatal and project leader, Elisenda Eixarch, senior specialist at BCNatal and senior scientific coordinator of the project, and Ignasi López, Director of ”la Caixa” Foundation’s Office of Relations with Research and Health Institutions presented the results of the first phase in the CaixaResearch Artificial Placenta project.
De izquierda a derecha: el director general del Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Josep Maria Campistol; el director gerente del Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, Manel del Castillo; el director general de la Fundación ”la Caixa”, Antonio Vila Bertrán; el director de BCNatal y líder del proyecto, Eduard Gratacós; la especialista sénior de BCNatal y coordinadora científica sénior del proyecto, Elisenda Eixarch, y el director del Área de Relaciones con Instituciones de Investigación y Salud de la Fundación ”la Caixa”, Ignasi López, han presentado los resultados de la primera fase del proyecto CaixaResearch Placenta Artificial.

The CaixaResearch Artificial Placenta project achieves foetal survival of 12 days in good health

Barcelona

19.06.23

2 minutos de lectura

Over the first two and a half years of the project, the CaixaResearch Artificial Placenta scientific team developed a prototype of a functional artificial placenta with 12-day survival with good foetal health in an animal model, demonstrating that maintaining a very extreme premature baby in an artificial placenta system is viable.

”la Caixa” Foundation is now injecting a further 4.3 million euros into the project to help fund a second experimental validation phase and a final clinical phase. The Foundation supported the first phase with 3.35 million euros, enabling improvements to be made and helping to position the project, the only one of its type in Europe, as a world leader.

The aim of the artificial placenta system designed under the project is to reproduce and prolong the physiological conditions of the maternal womb to enable the correct development of the organs of neonates born at six months or less, increasing their chances of survival and minimising the sequelae that affect many of these newborns, driving a paradigm shift in the treatment of extremely premature infants.

This disruptive initiative, led by Dr Eduard Gratacós, is being carried out at BCNatal, a clinical and research centre in foetal and neonatal medicine of international standing attached to Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. The project involves a multidisciplinary team with the direct participation of more than 35 researchers and the collaboration of more than 30 other professionals.

Latest Update: 26 February 2024 | 13:22