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The Foundation for Health Advancement has awarded Cooper University Health Care‘s Center for Innovation a $100,000 grant to study and develop a new device used to drain fluid from the pleural space of the lungs. 

Pulmonologist Dr. Wissam Abouzgheib and thoracic surgeon Dr. David Shersher invented the Body Cavity Evacuator, which has the potential to provide a more effective, less invasive way to drain fluid from the body than current methods, according to an Aug. 14 announcement from Cooper Health. 

The physicians developed the device to address a condition called pleural effusion, which is fluid that collects in the space between the two layers of the covering that protects and cushions the lungs. 

“One kind of pleural effusion is pleural empyema, which is a collection of pus in the pleural cavity caused by microorganisms, usually bacteria,” Abouzgheib said in a statement.  

Abouzgheib said this condition – which affects more than 32,000 U.S. patients each year, according to the National Institutes of Health – can occur along with pneumonia, injury or chest surgery, and the fluid is often difficult to drain. 

Shersher said early intervention in these situations is “crucial” to control or eliminate infection. He added that, currently, approximately 20% to 30% of patients with empyema will either die or require further surgery in the first year after developing the condition. 

Current methods of removing fluid can be ineffective or cumbersome and often require two devices to perform the task, according to the Cooper physicians.  

Shersher and Abouzgheib’s evacuator simplifies the procedure by using only one entry point, thereby lowering a patient’s risk of infection or further complications. According to Cooper, thanks to the new funding, the device will be further developed and may also lead to solutions for other conditions. 

“When Dr. Shersher and Dr. Abouzgheib presented their idea to us, we wanted to learn more about the project because we saw how strong of a team they are and the unmet need in simplifying this process,” said Dr. George Heinrich, vice chair and CEO of New Jersey Health Foundation, and affiliate of FHA. “We are excited that this Innovation Grant will assist in the early development of the prototype and then lead to the body cavity evacuator device, which will improve patient outcomes.” 

The Cooper Innovation Center was founded in 2022 to advance biomedical research and technologies developed by Cooper physicians and researchers. 

The grant announcement follows another innovation in lung care from the Camden-based health care provider. On Aug. 7, Cooper said its pulmonary experts – including Abouzgheib – were the first anywhere to use a new technology that could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.