SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) has received a $15,000 grant from the Health Forward Foundation to support an innovative research project aimed at improving the understanding of mechanical ventilation and advancing future respiratory care technologies.

The project, “Advancing Respiratory Care Through the Development of a Physiologically Realistic Mechanical Lung Model,” is led by Dr. Aarthi Sekaran, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, as principal investigator, and Dr. Ahmed Abdelaal, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, as co-principal investigator. The research also includes clinical collaboration with Professor Gary Nieman of Upstate Medical University. The grant is managed by The Research Foundation for SUNY.

The multi-year project will bring together engineering, healthcare, and biomedical research to create a realistic laboratory model of the human lung. Unlike simple demonstration models, the platform will closely mimic how human lungs expand, contract, and respond to mechanical ventilators, allowing researchers to better study the interaction between patients and the life-saving devices used to help them breathe.

By creating a more lifelike testing environment, researchers will be able to safely evaluate airflow, pressure changes, and ventilator performance without relying on human subjects. The platform will also generate experimental data that can be used to improve computer models of the respiratory system, helping researchers design and evaluate safer and more effective respiratory care technologies.

Beyond advancing respiratory care research, the initiative has been intentionally designed as a multi-year interdisciplinary capstone experience that places undergraduate engineering students at the center of the research process. Students will help design, build, test, and refine the mechanical lung model while gaining hands-on experience with engineering design, biomedical instrumentation, experimental research methods, and prototype development. Their work will contribute directly to research with the potential to improve mechanical ventilation and patient care, providing the kind of real-world, high-impact research experience that prepares graduates to tackle complex healthcare challenges.

“This project brings together engineering and healthcare to address a challenge that has a direct impact on people's lives,” said Dr. Sekaran. “By creating a realistic mechanical lung model, we hope to provide researchers with a better tool for studying mechanical ventilation while giving our students the opportunity to contribute to research that has the potential to improve patient care. It is exactly the kind of hands-on, interdisciplinary experience that prepares future engineers to make meaningful contributions in healthcare and biomedical innovation.”

“The Health Forward Foundation is pleased to support SUNY Poly’s groundbreaking research project,” said Rosemary Bonacci, president of the Health Forward Foundation. “SUNY Poly's unique collaboration, combining engineering, healthcare and biomedical research, embodies the Health Forward Foundation’s mission to empower progress in the field of medicine by funding health and medical initiatives that drive advancements in education and training.”

The project reflects SUNY Poly’s continued commitment to experiential learning by engaging students in research that addresses real-world healthcare challenges. Through collaboration with clinical experts and faculty across disciplines, the initiative advances the university's growing research portfolio while providing undergraduate students with meaningful opportunities to contribute to innovations that could improve respiratory care and patient outcomes.