Overview

• An international UCL–GOSH–KU Leuven team tethered VEGF to carbon nanodiamonds to enable controlled, localized delivery to fetal lungs.
• In lab-grown human mini-lungs and animal models, administering the VEGF system during the FETO balloon procedure yielded the healthiest lungs.
• Findings published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicate the approach complements current prenatal care.
• CDH affects about 1 in 3,000 births, with survival under 25% in severe untreated cases and near 50% with FETO alone.
• Developers are working on a degradable delivery vehicle and expanded safety testing before clinical trials, with first use projected in roughly five years.