How Did We Get Here

Thank you for taking the time to visit the VentDx website. I hope that by now, from our homepage you have got a good overview of our technology, how it works, and most importantly the problem we are addressing.

The team of Prof. Andrew Farmery, Prof. Clive Hahn, and myself began to experiment with a novel idea of measuring cardiopulmonary function using perturbation of tracer gases back in 2010 at Oxford. At that time, we had no idea if the idea would work, and if worked, what the measurements could be used for. It had been a long journey, taking it from proof of concept, and clinical feasibility, to figuring out a business case and market fit but we never gave up. In 2016, the University assigned the core IP to us to explore options to take the technology forward. Remaining unclear if there would be any useful clinical applications, we decided to take on the challenge. We spent the next few years exploring and evaluating the technology in different clinical settings, from the operating theatres, and ICUs to lung function labs. It was by chance really that we came across the problem of ventilator-induced lung injury.

It was a shock for me personally to learn that even though the risk of the ventilator damaging the lung has been recognized for nearly 4 decades, currently clinicians do not have the necessary lung information by the bedside to set the ventilator safely. The more I learned about this problem, about the unnecessary risk that patients suffer, and the high mortality, …, the more I believed that this is where our technology would make a difference. Thus, VentDx was created to address this problem.

Then Covid hit. It was not only a difficult time for us at VentDx but everyone on this planet. But we, humans, have consistently shown our resilience throughout our history and we have done it again with this pandemic. We survived it, came out of it stronger, and continue to live, create, and dream about a better future.

And for our VentDx venture, we are at the crossroads where I believe we are ready to take this technology to the patients. One of the main reasons for this strong belief is the quality of the core VentDx team and why I’m confident that this team will not only help bring InspiWaveTM to the market successfully but also have a great shot at making it a new, future standard of care for ventilated patients worldwide.

Thank you,

Phi Anh Phan, Founder & CEO

Our Team

David Dantzker, Founder and Director

A world-renowned respiratory professor and former CEO of the second-largest US hospital group, Dantzker has also spent 15 years in medical investing. He serves on numerous medtech companies’ boards and is formerly chair of American Board of Internal Medicine.

Andrew Farmery, Founder and Chief Medical Advisor

Professor of Anaesthetics, Dean of Wadham college, Sir Samuel Scott of Yews Fellow in Medicine, Farmery's research group is known for innovating novel sensors and analytical techniques for respiratory and cardiovascular systems for more than a decade. InspiWaveTM was developed in his group.

Phi Anh Phan, Founder and CEO

With a DPhil in AI and mechatronics, and a decade of experience in developing respiratory medical devices, Phan is also an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oxford, an entrepreneurial fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering. His work has won numerous entrepreneurial awards and has helped secure £2.3m in R&D funding.

Stephen Tunnell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

A global authority in respiratory and mechanical ventilation products, Tunnell has developed 15 mechanical ventilators’ products and numerous innovative monitoring technologies. He has co-founded several successful MedTech companies and possesses a unique understanding of Clinical, QA/RA, Engineering, and Marketing functions.

Brian Minh Tran, R&D Lead

With a PhD in Machine Learning and Modeling in Respiratory Medical Devices, Tran is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. He has been recognized in Vietnamese Forbes 30 under 30 in research and education and won the E&T Innovation Award for his work on the OxVent project, the Oxford affordable ventilator invented as a response to the Covid crisis.

Ben Phan

VentDx Locations

Headquarter – San Diego, US

R&D – Oxford, UK

Development – Ho Chi Minh City, VN

We set up VentDx over three locations to take advantage of the strengths of each place. Our head office is established in the US to access to the largest market – US. Our R&D locates in Oxford, UK, integrating highest standard of scientific innovation in our product development. And our Vietnam development office helps us access an abundant of untapped engineering talents.