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  • How a wear-anywhere vest for COPD evolved

    Through the Penn Medicine Medical Device Accelerator, a physician’s back-of-a-napkin sketch may soon help patients breathe easier.
    jake brenner with copd device
    To alleviate shortness of breath in his patients with COPD, Penn Medicine’s Jake Brenner (right) envisioned a lightweight vest that could be worn during normal activity to ease the burden of moving air in and out of the lungs. Marek Swoboda (left) serves as CEO of Right Air LLC, the company Brenner launched to bring his idea to life with support from the Medical Device Accelerator program.

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  • Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease
    Emissions from a power plant.

    Image: Pencho Chukov via Getty Images

    Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease

    New research from Penn Medicine finds living in areas with high concentration of air pollution is associated with increased buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, accelerating cognitive decline.

    Sep 9, 2025

    What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
    Donia Ahmed prepares tissue for imaging.

    Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today

    What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis

    A Penn Engineering team has targeted the lung’s extracellular matrix to better understand early fibrosis by triggering the formation of special chemical bonds that increase tissue stiffness in specific locations, mimicking the first physical changes that may lead to lung fibrosis.

    Sep 12, 2025