Pleural effusion, a dangerous build-up of fluid around the lungs, affects hundreds of thousands of patients every year. Draining it safely requires an ultrasound imaging system and a trained specialist. Both are scarce.
Patients wait hours or days. Many are drained blind, with the risk of lung collapse reaching as high as thirty percent. The clinical founders of The Puddle saw what was happening and had a clear conviction: there had to be a better way. They brought us the question.