Benjamin Terry part of NSRI $3.7M grant to save those suffering lung injury in battle

Benjamin Terry, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering, is part of a multi-university team working on a two-year, $3.7 million grant to help save the lives of Americans suffering traumatic lung injuries in battle.

The grant, awarded by the Department of Defense Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, was given to the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI). The NSRI at the University of Nebraska is one of 13 University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) across the nation.

This project, which also includes researchers from the Universtity of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Colorado Boulder, will allow for the delivery of oxygenated microbubbles into the abdomen of a person with a traumatic injury to provide oxygen to keep organs, including the brain, alive while the lungs heal.

Terry, who is known internationally for his work to develop microbubble technology, said this system transforms the injured person's abdomen into a third lung. Currently, Terry is perfecting a device he has invented that would deliver oxygen microbubbles into the abdomen, and Terry also aims to develop a system that would deliver microbubbles through a chest tube.