If your baby is born prematurely, you'll learn that one of the greatest concerns is whether or not the baby's lungs have matured enough to adequately receive oxygen. In the pre-term infant, what's often missing is surfactant, a frothy liquid necessary to open the alveoli, tiny air pockets in the sponge-like lungs that transfer oxygen to the blood. The greater the degree of prematurity, the more difficulty the baby will have breathing, possibly resulting in Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). The American Lung Association reports that RDS affects approximately 25,000 babies per year, of which two thousand die. (60 percent of these deaths are the result of birth before 28 weeks gestation; After 34 weeks gestation, however, more than 95% of babies survive.)

Usually, premature infants must be placed on a mechanical ventilator, a machine that forces air into the lungs at high pressure. These machines aren't always effective, and often cause damage to the lung tissue. Recent studies of the efficacy of a new treatment method called "partial liquid ventilation" have been extremely encouraging, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. During the course of the study, premature infants' lungs were filled with a unique liquid called perflubron. A compound of carbon and fluorine atoms, perflubron carries gases very well but is not absorbed by body tissues. During treatment, oxygenated perflubron is poured directly into the lungs, gently opening and flushing the alveoli while exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide. When treatment is complete, the perflubron simply evaporates.

In the study group of ten critically ill babies, eight survived due to treatment with perflubron. Other uses for this revolutionary liquid – including to directly transport medication to the lungs and as a temporary substitute for blood during surgery – are being explored.

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