The goal of our manuscript “A Pumpless Microfluidic Neonatal Lung Assist Device for Support of Preterm Neonates in Respiratory Distress” is to present the first successful application of a microfluidic, artificial placenta type neonatal lung assist device in a newborn piglet model. Our development uses the natural placenta as a blueprint and is a step towards a lung-independent respiratory support for preterm and term infants. This device will mimic the function of a natural placenta outside of the womb. In future, such artificial placenta can become a standard bedside tool and be as widespread as a resuscitation bag in clinical routine, available at any standard newborn resuscitator unit. In cases where newborns are not transitioning perfectly to extrauterine life and have lung failure, the artificial placenta will allow physicians to just simply put the infants to a placenta-like support.^[1]

我们的手稿“用于支持早产儿呼吸窘迫的无泵微流体新生儿肺辅助装置”的目的是展示微流体人工胎盘型新生儿肺辅助装置在新生仔猪模型中的首次成功应用。我们的开发以天然胎盘为蓝图，是为早产儿和足月儿提供不依赖肺的呼吸支持的一步。该装置将模仿子宫外自然胎盘的功能。将来，这种人工胎盘可以成为标准的床边工具，并在临床常规中像复苏袋一样广泛使用，可在任何标准的新生儿复苏器装置中使用。如果新生儿未能完美过渡到宫外生命并患有肺衰竭，人工胎盘将允许医生简单地将婴儿放在类似胎盘的支撑物上。^{[ 1 ]}