| Pullach, Germany, 11 July 2011 – Linde Healthcare, a global business unit of The Linde Group, today announced the first beneficiaries of the REALfund initiative. The REALfund was set up in 2010 to support novel and innovative research into the role of gases in three key areas: respiratory medicine, acute pain management and gas-enabled wound care. Four grantees – selected from over 30 applications – will receive a total EUR 300,000 in funding.
Dr Christian Wojczewski, Head of Linde Healthcare, said: “Every day, gases prove invaluable in the treatment of illnesses. The current REALfund grants cover a wide range of intriguing innovative research. For example: many COPD patients suffer from systemic muscle inflammation, due to the increased work of breathing. The funded research will investigate the relationship between oxygen supplementation and inflammation, which has the potential to optimise the therapeutic approach.”
The funding will support the grantees to continue their innovative research which aims to develop treatments that benefit patients and caregivers. Dr Alice Margaret Wood, Birmingham University, is researching how oxygen therapy can help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Professor Gerd Döring, University of Tübingen, is researching the use of nitric oxide in the treatment of infections for cystic fibrosis; Professor Arne May, University of Hamburg, is investigating the effect of oxygen on headaches, including migraines; and Dr Paul Seddon, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, is looking at how new technology can be used to monitor patients‘ oxygen saturation and heart rate from home rather than in hospital.
The REALfund scientific event has been attended by the REALfund grantees, along with J. Kent Masters, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG, and a number of invited experts and key opinion leaders in respiratory care. |
