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Ventiva Medical

In development for ICU airway care

Detecting and clearing airway plugs before they become emergencies

Ventilated ICU patients can’t cough the way you and I do. Mucus builds up inside their breathing tubes, where no one can see it. We’re building a way for bedside teams to detect and clear it early.

Get involvedSee our progress

Why it matters

  • 1.6 million

    US adults are mechanically ventilated each year [1]

  • Over 50%

    of patients develop significant tube narrowing by the time of extubation [2]

  • 0 of 20

    ICU nurses rated current detection tools above 3 out of 5 [3]

  1. [1] Jivraj et al., 2023 (opens in a new tab)
  2. [2] Mann et al., 2016 (opens in a new tab)
  3. [3] Ventiva survey of 20 ICU nurses, 2026
See the problem

How we’re approaching it

  • What we’re building

    Detect, clear, and confirm, without interrupting ventilation.

    See our approach

  • Progress

    From a bedside observation to benchtop prototypes in one semester.

    See the timeline

  • Team

    Four founders from the NC State and UNC Chapel Hill MedTech M.S. program.

    Meet the team

Recognition

  • Pitch finalist, NextGen Entrepreneurship Network (NGEN) RTP Student Entrepreneurship Conference, October 2026
  • Finalist, Take A Shot Award, Crunkleton Innovation Summit, October 2026
  • Ventiva Medical LLC formed, October 2026
  • Winner, $500 prize, Entrepalooza 2026 Minute to Pitch It Competition, September 2026