Swedish-Canadian researcher Christer Sinderby is the man behind Getinge’s patented Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA). Using the patient’s own respiratory drive to control ventilator assistance, NAVA has elevated mechanical ventilation to an entirely new level and helped the tiniest premature baby in the world survive.

The smallest surviving baby boy believed to ever be born has survived despite weighing only 258 grams at birth after 24 weeks and five days of gestation. Dr. Ryo Itoshima, one of the doctors behind this miraculous recovery, says the Getinge innovation Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) played a crucial role in the lung development.