ArtPlac seeks to address a significant and urgent challenge in neonatal care: the high mortality and long-term morbidity associated with severe lung and kidney failure in newborns. Each year, 2.3 million children die within the first month of life globally, with preterm birth complications accounting for approximately one million of these deaths — the leading cause of under-five mortality worldwide. Many of these fatalities are attributed to the inadequacies of current treatment technologies. These devices, often adapted from adult designs, fail to meet the specific physiological needs of newborns, leading to poor outcomes, including chronic disabilities and prolonged hospitalizations. In addition, these treatments are highly invasive, requiring mechanical ventilation and multiple surgically placed lines, which can cause severe side effects and lifelong consequences.
The global neonatal care devices market, valued at approximately USD 2.8 billion in 2024 and projected to exceed USD 6.7 billion by 2034, reflects the growing demand for innovative solutions in this field. The ArtPlac project offers a transformative solution. By designing an artificial placenta inspired by the natural organ, the project introduces a compact device that integrates lung and kidney support. This device connects via the umbilical cord, providing gentle, physiological care that enables newborns to breathe and feed naturally while recovering. A critical technological pillar of ArtPlac is its advanced approach to surface functionalization and hemocompatibility. Current extracorporeal circuits are inherently prothrombotic, with 20–60% of patients experiencing major bleeding and 10–50% suffering thrombotic events. For extremely preterm infants, the systemic anticoagulation required by existing devices carries a disproportionate risk of fatal intracranial hemorrhage. ArtPlac addresses this challenge through biomimetic surface coatings — including nitric oxide-releasing polymers, zwitterionic functionalization, and phosphorylcholine layers — that dramatically reduce platelet adhesion and thrombus formation, thereby minimizing or eliminating the need for systemic anticoagulation.
