Bildnachweis: Ebenbuild, Pixabay, VC Magazin.
Originating from years of research at TU Munich, Ebenbuild creates digital twins of the human lung to personalise treatment in critical care. CEO Kei W. Müller explains how the company’s physics-based simulation technology combines AI and medical insight to make mechanical ventilation safer and more efficient.
VC Magazin: Ebenbuild’s technology simulates individual lung function in unprecedented
detail. How exactly does the digital lung twin work, and for which conditions could it prove particularly valuable?
Müller: Every lung reacts differently to treatment. This is critical in invasive mechanical
ventilation, the focus of our first clinical product, Aerogram, yet intensive-care medicine still mostly relies on broad averages. Our technology personalises that treatment. From a routine CT scan, we create a digital twin that mirrors the exact structure and mechanics of a patient’s lungs. Within an hour it reveals how much air each lung region can safely take, where tissue is at risk of being overstrained – complete with intuitive 3-D visuals. For the first time, doctors understand and are able to predict the effect of ventilation on the lungs and weigh their options in advance. This is vital in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and other severe lung conditions that affect over ten million patients worldwide each year and carry mortality rates of 40 per cent. In our recently published study, our models predicted real-world lung behaviour with 90 per cent accuracy. By replacing trial-and-error with foresight, we help clinicians protect the lungs, shorten recovery, and save lives.
VC Magazin: Ebenbuild has already secured seed funding from HTGF and Bayern Kapital, and this summer additional support through the EIC Accelerator Programme. What milestones have you been able to reach with this funding, and how has the capital advanced your technology so far?
Müller: We have transformed 20 years of research into a software solution compliant
with ISO 13485. We built a scalable software architecture and validated our models with world-renowned intensive-care specialists. Through the EUR 4 million EIC Accelerator grant and additional funding, we are automating the creation of digital twins and expanding computing performance. We are preparing for a regulatory clearance trial and CE and FDA submissions. In essence, we have moved from pioneering research to a product ready for everyday hospital use once it’s cleared.
VC Magazin: With your product Twinhale, you are developing a scalable solution for predicting pulmonary drug deposition. Which customers do you target with it, and what is the current development stage of the software?
Müller: Twinhale takes our lung-simulation platform technology into pharmaceutical
development. It enables pharma and biotech companies to predict, in silico, where inhaled medicines will deposit inside the lungs of virtual patients – long before clinical trials begin. This helps optimise formulations and can cut development by months. Twinhale is being commercialised for regulatory grade in silico trials.
VC Magazin: The EIC funding also opens the door to a follow-on financing round, for which additional strategic partners will be needed. What kind of investors would you consider the best fit for Ebenbuild at this stage?
Müller: We are preparing our series A to bring our first clinical product, Aerogram, to market in the US and Europe. Aerogram gives clinicians a patient-specific ventilation map and, based on our modelling, can save hospitals around EUR 20,000 per ICU patient by reducing ventilation time. It is safer for patients and more efficient for healthcare systems. We are looking for investors who recognise that physics-based modelling in conjunction with AI will define the future of precision medicine – particularly those experienced in medtech, digital health or strategic fields such as ventilator manufacturing, imaging or respiratory pharma. Our vision is clear: within a few years, no patient should have to be ventilated by guesswork.
VC Magazin: Thank you very much!
About the interview partner:
Kei W. Müller is co-founder and CEO of Ebenbuild. Having grown up and lived in Germany, Japan and the US, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in computational biomechanics at TUM. He then worked in tech in the SF Bay Area for two years before returning to Germany to found Ebenbuild. He is an excellent judoka, and crams sports and arts into any free nook of his life.
