Spun out of Apellis Pharmaceuticals - another young Kentucky based firm - Liberate Medical is a medical device company addessing improvement both of the quality of care and reduce the cost of health care for patients. Focused on the conditon in which patients have difficulty weaning from mechanical ventilation (MV) and for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the firm's lead product is the VentFree⢠Muscle Stimulator - an FDA approved device functioning as a respiratory electrical muscle stimulator that is designed to reduce the number of days a patient spends on mechanical ventilation. Previously referenced as SecondBreath, is a discreet and wearable belt that applies surface electrical stimulation to the abdominal muscles during exhalation causing the abdominal muscles to contract during exhalation, compressing the abdominal contents which push upward like a piston toward the lungs. This piston-like effect helps to squeeze out an extra volume of air every time the patient exhales and thereby rapidly reduces lung hyperinflation
