Post-surgery breathing exercise management for patients and healthcare providers
Current therapeutic spirometry used after all inpatient surgeries relies on outdated mechanical devices, patient self-administration and reporting, and nursing-intensive bedside monitoring.
Airalux delivers therapeutic spirometry, redesigned:
1) Automatic adherence and performance tracking. No need for patient self-reporting or nursing bedside monitoring.
2) On-device real-time inhalation feedback and reminders, designed to make it easy for post-surgery patients to use.
We enable better therapeutic spirometry administration, monitoring, and outcomes for:
to get immediate feedback and guidance on when and how to do their post-surgery therapeutic spirometry.
patients
to check in and provide encouragement and support on their patient’s lung rehabilitation progress.
loved ones
to easily view accurate, reliable patient inhalation volume progress and adherence to administer appropriate care for patients that are non-adherent or showing concerning volume trends.
nurses
and respiratory therapists to better allocate bedside care resources for better patient outcomes.
nurse managers
to get reliable, quantitative support for earlier discharge or earlier interventions of complications both in the hospital and at home.
surgeons
to decrease risk of postoperative lung complication incidence for reduced non-reimbursed treatment costs and better bed turnover.
and hospitals systems
Funded and supported by
What we hear people ask about therapeutic spirometry…
What puts someone at risk for lung complications?
Whether a patient received a lung transplant, hip replacement, colorectal resection, or spinal fusion, their lungs will be at risk from being on anesthesia and inactivity in the hospital bed. Depending on the indication, up to ~40% of patients experience breathing issues after surgery, leading to complications like pneumonia and the need for even more medical intervention. These complications cause significant harm to patients, increase hospital stays, and make healthcare much more expensive.
What does therapeutic spirometry do?
Therapeutic spirometry (also called "incentive spirometer") is an important part of care for encouraging lung health after inpatient surgeries. When patients are stationary and were on anesthesia in the hospital, they are prone to taking shallow breaths. This can lead to a condition called atelectasis where the lungs can deflate, which lead to complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, and more.
Therapeutic spirometry reduces the likelihood of these complications by encouraging deep breaths that re-inflate alveoli. Patients are to take breaths with the spirometer every 10 minutes, during which they try to reach a target inhale volume set by a nurse.
Why may therapeutic spirometry “not work”?
Therapeutic spirometry suffers from low patient adherence, which make its effects limited in practice. Current therapeutic spirometers also make it very difficult to track adherence.
There are many reasons patients don't use their therapeutic spirometers: pain, confusion, forgetfulness, or a lack of motivation. Many patients also struggle to complete the exercises correctly without any help from a care provider. Between patients completing exercises incorrectly or forgetting to complete them at all, these limitations lead to preventable, post-operative pulmonary complications.
What's the difference between Airalux and other spirometers like Aluna or Spirolink?
Digital spirometers currently on the market are mostly diagnostic spirometers, not therapeutic spirometers. They focus on exhaled lung measurements that can help clinicians flag and diagnose lung conditions, but do not offer exercises that focus on inpatient post-surgery deep breathing. We offer features specifically targeted to breathing exercises after surgery while patients are still at the hospital that reduce the risk of post-surgery lung complications that incur treatment costs not covered by insurance reimbursements.
Airalux is developed by
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Co-Founder, CEO
Customer discovery. Fundraising. Firmware.
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Co-Founder, CTO
Data science. Clinical research. MechE. Design. SWE. The occasional electrical engineering.
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Co-Founder
Part-time. Software and grant writing.
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Interns
Axel Delakowski, University of Pennsylvania, SEAS'26, VIP-P F'24
Thomas Liu, University of Pennsylvania, SEAS'28, VIP-P F'24
Aditya Shah, Woodbridge Academy ‘26, F’24
Michelle Cully, University of Pennsylvania PhD'24, VIP-P S'24
Brandon O'Neill, University of Pennsylvania SEAS'27, VIP-P S'24
Sophia Tang, University of Pennsylvania M&T'27, VIP-P F'23
Wharton Consulting Groups
Jerome Fisher M&T Innovation Fund Student Engagement S’25
Wharton Undergraduate Healthcare Consulting F’24
Wharton Management Consulting F’24
Penn Senior Design Founding Team (Josh Freedman, Parth Mody, Jackson Dooley, Yi-An Hsieh, Isabella Mirro)
Advisors - Business
Jeffrey Babin, MBA - Practice Professor of Engineering Entrepreneurship, Penn Engineering
Katherine Reuther, PhD - Executive Director, Penn Health Tech
Eric Sugalski, MBA - CEO, Archimedic
Andrew Tsourkas, PhD - Co-Founder, AlphaThera
Advisors - Scientific and Clinical
Matt Maltese, PhD - Co-Founder and Chief Engineer, X-Biomedical
Arshad Wani, MD - Attending Pulmonologist, Medical Director of Respiratory Care, Director of Medical ICU, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Hari Shankar, MD - Attending Pulmonoloigst, Associate Medical Director of Respiratory Care and Medical ICU, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Beth Sheridan, CNRP - Critical Care Nurse Practicioner - Trauma/Surgical ICU, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Mentors
David Meaney, PhD - Professor of Bioengineering, Penn Engineering
Sevile Mannickarottu, MS - Director of Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Penn Engineering
Erin Berlew, PhD - Lecturer, Penn Engineering
John Ondik, MBA - Principal, The Ondik Group
Heather Callender-Potters - Co-Founder, PharmaJet
Sofija Jovic - CEO, ProPhase
Connect with us on LinkedIn
Better patient adherence
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Early complication intervention
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Better recovery management
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Better patient adherence • Early complication intervention • Better recovery management •
We’re recognized by…
Programs
MITRE Rise Healthcare IT Accelerator, Spring 2025
VentureWell Aspire, Fall 2024
NIH Bootcamp, Fall 2024
Pennovation Accelerator, Summer 2024
VentureWell E-Team Propel, Spring 2024
Penn/Mid-Atlantic I-Corps, Spring 2024
Penn Health-Tech Bootcamp, Spring 2024
VentureWell E-Team Pioneer, Winter 2024
Drexel Kline Law Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, Fall 2023
Penn Law Detkin IP Clinic, Fall 2023
Penn Venture Lab VIP-Practicum, Fall 2023 and Spring 2024
Penn Venture Lab VIP-X, Summer 2023
Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship Lab, Spring 2023
Awards
Bridge Fund Award, University of Pennsylvania, Spring 2024
Miller Innovation Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, Spring 2024
Finalist at New Venture Championships, Stu Clark Center, Spring 2024
Finalist at New Venture Competition, Baylor University, Spring 2024
Implementation Award, University of Pennsylvania, Fall 2023
Berkman Award, University of Pennsylvania, Fall 2023
1st Place in Student Design Competition, BMES/Medtronic, Fall 2023
1st place in Undergraduate Design Competition, SB3C, Summer 2023
Bioengineering Senior Design Award, University of Pennsylvania, Spring 2023