MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 8, 2026--
A critically ill patient at Northwell’s North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) has been one of the first in the United States – and the first on the East Coast – to successfully be treated with an innovative therapy that helps wean those who need mechanical ventilation to breathe on their own faster.
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Lungpacer’s FDA-approved AeroPace device uses neurostimulation, which harnesses the power of the brain and nervous system, to activate and strengthen the diaphragm muscle to control natural breathing. The result is a 43 percent faster recovery for patients placed on a ventilator for more than 96 hours, the Pennsylvania-based company said.
NSUH, a Level I trauma center and teaching hospital that treats more than 90,000 patients each year, often receives the region’s most complex cases because of its advanced life support capabilities. Eric Gottesman, MD, a critical care expert who serves as director of intensivist medicine at NSUH, spearheads the hospital’s AeroPace program. He remembers the challenge hospitals around the world faced when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of patients struggling to breathe onto ventilators. Some never made it off.
“When you inhale, more than 90 percent of the work comes from the diaphragm,” said Dr. Gottesman. “The longer you are on a ventilator – the longer your recovery. Being on a ventilator for an extended period can lead to other medical complications. This innovative device can make an outsized impact on patient outcomes.”
Because the ventilator does the work of the diaphragm, the muscle can rapidly weaken due to inactivity. That’s the greatest test respiratory therapists face as they guide patients along a path to recovery that requires them to eventually breathe on their own.
Lungpacer’s AeroPace is a catheter device which uses electrodes placed in a subclavian artery or internal jugular vein to stimulate phrenic nerves, forcing the diaphragm to contract. This helps prevent diaphragm atrophy in patients who are on mechanical ventilation. Studies have shown the device can decrease time on mechanical ventilation by three days, Dr. Gottesman said.
“We’re excited to support our ICU leaders in applying the Lungpacer AeroPace device to patients under their care,” said David Hirschwerk, MD, chief medical officer at NSUH. “The goal is to reduce the length of time on the ventilator, which can diminish time in the hospital and improve overall outcomes, particularly for our most vulnerable patients.”
NSUH is home to the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital, the Katz Women’s Hospital, neurosurgery, multi-organ transplant services and one of the busiest emergency departments in the New York Metropolitan area. NSUH is a member of Northwell Health, which is the largest nonprofit health system in the Northeast with 28 hospitals and more than 1,000 outpatient facilities.
About Northwell Health
Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 106,000 employees – including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell, named a TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025, is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visitNorthwell.eduand follow us @NorthwellHealth onFacebook,X,InstagramandLinkedIn.
Respiratory therapists at North Shore University Hospital get a demonstration of Lungpacer’s AeroPace device from Dr. Eric Gottesman, the hospital's director of intensivist medicine. Credit Northwell Health
Soccer star Christian Eriksen was at home with family and “doing well” he said on Monday, a day after collapsing on the field again while playing for Denmark.
The reassuring health update by 34-year-old Eriksen came after he clutched his chest with both hands in an off-the-ball action in the 65th minute of a friendly against Ukraine in Odense on Sunday. After dropping to the ground, Eriksen received medical attention as fellow players formed a circle around him.
He then walked off the field by himself and was taken to the hospital, where he underwent more tests. He had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted to support his heart after suffering a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match in 2021.
After updates by the team physician via statements from the Danish soccer federation, Eriksen himself posted for the first time on social media.
“I want to let everyone know that I am doing well and that I am home with my family,” he wrote on Instagram.
“As you can probably imagine, receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major effect on both me and my family, but I want to assure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021."
Eriksen said his “recovery has already started.”
“In addition to being grateful for the support and assistance of all the players and the medical team on the field, I am also incredibly grateful to the doctors who have cared for me and my heart over the years," he wrote.
“Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it."
Eriksen said he focus now was on “recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children.”
In a post on Facebook late Sunday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote she was “sending my warmest thoughts to Christian Eriksen and to all those around him who are affected."
She adding that she had been relieved to hear an update on his condition after the initial shock of his latest health incident.
Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez and Manchester United players Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire were among the players to react to Eriksen's Instagram post on Monday with well-wishes.
The game on Sunday was abandoned with no further play following Eriksen's collapse after the referee conferred with staff and players from both teams. Denmark was leading 2-1 at the time.
Neither team qualified for the 2026 World Cup beginning this week in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Eriksen was fitted with an ICD in the months after suffering his cardiac arrest during Denmark’s group game against Finland in the European Championship five years ago.
An ICD is described by the British Heart Foundation as a “small electrical device that can treat people with dangerously abnormal heart rhythms."
The device is put under the skin in the chest, near the collarbone, the foundation said, and can give electrical pulses to help your heart beat normally if it notices an abnormal heart rhythm.
Commenting after Eriksen's collapse on Sunday, Denmark team physician Morten Boesen said “as I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should.”
There has been no further information from team officials about what exactly caused Eriksen to clutch his chest.
Italian health regulations prohibit players from playing with a fitted ICD, so Eriksen had to leave his Italian team — Inter Milan — to resume his playing career after the 2021 incident.
That happened in England with Brentford in 2022, before three years at Manchester United (2022-25), which he left as a free agent last year.
His current team is Wolfsburg in Germany, where he has a contract through the 2026-27 season. The team, which was relegated from the top-tier Bundesliga last month, wished him a swift recovery Sunday.
AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Dusseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Denmark's players react after Patrick Dorgu scored against Ukraine during an international football match between Denmark and Ukraine, in Odense, Denmark, Sunday, June 7, 2026. Player Christian Eriksen (10) is second right. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Denmark's Joakim Maehle, Andreas Christensen, and Jens Stage react after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during the international friendly soccer match between Denmark and Ukraine in Odense, Denmark, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Denmark's William Osula reacts after Denmark's player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during the international friendly soccer match between Denmark and Ukraine in Odense, Denmark, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Denmark's Christian Eriksen, left, in action with Ukraine's Mykola Matviyenko during an international football game, in Odense, Denmark, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
