EXTON, PA — Lungpacer Medical said a new economic analysis projects its AeroPace diaphragm-stimulation system could reduce hospital and post-acute care costs by about $24,000 per patient before device expenses, adding a financial argument for broader use in patients struggling to leave mechanical ventilation.
The analysis, published in Critical Care Medicine, combined clinical results from the randomized RESCUE-3 trial with U.S. claims data to estimate the treatment’s effect on acute hospital spending, long-term care costs and patient outcomes.
Researchers projected approximately $12,000 in average savings during the initial hospital stay and another $12,000 in reduced downstream long-term care costs per episode. Those figures do not account for the cost of the AeroPace device.
The estimates were based on trial findings showing that AeroPace reduced mechanical ventilation by about 2.8 to 3.2 days and improved successful ventilator weaning by more than 10% compared with standard care, according to Lungpacer.
The company said the economic model also projected lifetime gains ranging from 0.10 to 0.68 quality-adjusted life years, a measure used to assess how treatments affect both survival and health status.
“The ability to accelerate ventilator liberation safely is one of the most important challenges in critical care,” Joseph Shrager, professor and chief of thoracic surgery at Stanford University and a senior author of the analysis, stated. “These new data suggest that by accelerating weaning, diaphragm neurostimulation can reduce the substantial economic burden associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation.”
AeroPace is a temporary transvenous neurostimulation system designed to stimulate the phrenic nerves and activate the diaphragm while a patient remains on mechanical ventilation. The treatment is intended to preserve diaphragm function and help patients regain respiratory independence sooner.
Patients requiring prolonged ventilation are among the most resource-intensive in acute care because they often remain in intensive care longer and may require rehabilitation or other post-acute services after discharge.
Lungpacer Chief Executive Officer Doug Evans said hospitals are increasingly evaluating treatments based on their effect on intensive care capacity and patient throughput.
“This analysis reinforces that AeroPace delivers value on both sides of the equation: improving patient outcomes while reducing the cost of care,” Evans stated.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services granted AeroPace a New Technology Add-On Payment effective Oct. 1, 2025, allowing eligible hospitals to receive as much as approximately $23,650 in additional reimbursement per case.
New Category III Current Procedural Terminology codes also took effect July 1, 2026, creating a coding framework that could support future reimbursement pathways.
The analysis reflects modeled savings rather than observed net savings after the cost of the technology. Actual financial results may vary by hospital, patient mix, reimbursement and post-acute care utilization.
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