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NIH grant 1IK6RD000340-01A1: Research Career Scientist Award
Institute: {'code': 'VA', 'abbreviation': 'VA', 'name': 'Veterans Affairs', 'admin_org_id': '12500964', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Joseph Allen Potkay. Award: $.
Start: 2026-10-01T00:00:00.
Overall research focus: My laboratory is dedicated to harnessing the latest advancements in electronic
circuits, microsystems, microfluidics, and 3D printing to advance Veteran rehabilitation, with a strong focus on
engineered medical devices for rehabilitation from lung disease. Artificial lungs have been used for decades
during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment for lung disease, but patient outcomes remain
suboptimal due to a lack of biocompatibility, minimal patient mobility, and poor gas exchange efficiency. To
address these limitations, we are developing microfluidic artificial lungs (µALs) that closely mimic the natural
lung in terms of their blood flow paths and gas diffusion distances, new blood-contacting biomaterials, 3D
printing materials and techniques to create truly 3D artificial lung topologies, and smart artificial lung controllers
that automatically respond to the moment-to-moment needs of the patient:
1. Microfluidic Artificial Lungs. As pioneers and world leaders in this field, my laboratory developed one of
the first microfluidic artificial lungs (µALs), was the first to demonstrate that µALs can achieve gas exchange
efficiencies far exceeding current clinical devices, developed the first simple mathematical model of gas
exchange in µALs, presented the first comprehensive optimization procedure for these devices, and developed
the first manufacturing technology capable of automating the creation of clinically relevant devices. We are
currently scaling up that manufacturing technology to reliably create µALs with clinically relevant blood flows.
2. Blood Contacting Biomaterial Development. Despite the extremely promising potential for µALs, blood
compatibility needs to be improved for longer term clinical applications. At the time our efforts started, a
hemocompatible microfluidic network had not been demonstrated in the literature. Since that time, we have
developed a covalently-bound polyethylene glycol surface (PEG) coating for our µALs that reduced blood-
based fouling and increased device lifetime, validated the long term stability of PEG and zwitterionic coatings
under static and physiologic flow conditions, and tested our modified µALs in a 4-hr rabbit model, indicating
that hydrophilic coatings combined with nitric oxide in the sweep gas significantly increased device lifetime.
Ongoing work seeks to apply these techniques in large area µALs as well as to expand application to all blood
contacting medical devices.
3. 3D Printed Artificial Lungs. A major limitation to advancing µALs toward the clinic is the challenge of
combining many single µALs into a clinically usable device in a simple and cost-effective manner. We are
addressing this with our roll-to-roll manufacturing process, however, the 2D nature of each layer in all current
µALs severely limits the potential artificial lung geometries leading to device inefficiencies. To overcome these
limitations, we have demonstrated the first high resolution and gas permeable 3D printing resin, and used that
resin to print the world’s first 3D printed microfluidic artificial lung and validate its operation with whole blood.
Work continues on this project via VA Merit support to scale up to larger blood flows and to develop resin
modifications to increase blood compatibility.
4. Smart Artificial Lung Systems that Automatically Respond to the Patient’s Needs. Ambulatory artificial
lung systems are used clinically to enable mobility and rehabilitation, and wearable artificial lung systems are
under development. However, no artificial lung system to date can adjust to the changing metabolic needs of
the patient. We have developed smart sweep gas controllers for artificial lungs, first a benchtop version, then a
portable version, and finally a prototype wearable version, that servoregulates pump-driven sweep gas flow
based on exhaust gas CO2 content, providing the first step toward artificial lung systems that can automatically
respond to the changing needs of the patient. In ongoing work, we are generalizing this technology to all AL
systems and refining our wearable artificial lung for clinical use.document fetched 2026-10-24 02:46