CIMIT Inhalation Technology Program

Respiratory diseases, from infections to obstructive lung disease to cancer, are major public health problems. Acute respiratory infections are the third largest cause of death worldwide. The goal of the Inhalation Technology Program is to develop technologies to facilitate inhalation therapy that will help reduce human suffering and eventually health care costs.

The program will apply inhalation technology to the diagnosis and treatment of both acute and chronic respiratory and non-respiratory ailment. The respiratory tract can be used for not only local delivery but also as a conduit to deliver therapeutic agents systemically for the treatment of non-respiratory diseases. The respiratory tract can also provide a “window” for monitoring biomarkers of disease states.

Areas for innovation will include use of novel combinations of gases, therapeutic agents, inhalation systems, delivery systems, “smart-delivery” or self-monitoring/dosing devices.

For more information about the CIMIT Inhalation Technology Program, visit: http://www.cimit.org/programs-inhalationtechnology.html

About CIMIT:

CIMIT is a vibrant community of highly motivated collaborators who learn from each other and identify gaps in healthcare where known and emerging technologies can solve clinical problems. CIMIT fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among world-class experts in medicine, science and engineering, in concert with industry and government, to rapidly improve patient care.

CIMIT is a proven and successful model for initiating and accelerating translational medical research in the domain of devices, procedures, and clinical systems engineering. Our approach is based upon four assumptions:

  • With active effort, sophisticated technology from other industries can be applied in healthcare to improve the quality and safety of patient care.
  • Early-stage, high-risk, high-reward ideas have little access to funding.
  • The solution to many of the current problems in healthcare today is best achieved through active collaboration between the clinical and engineering research communities.
  • Facilitation and coaching at every stage of the innovation cycle adds value, produces better outcomes and yields better researchers.

For more information about CIMIT, visit: http://www.cimit.org/about.html