In the UK, about 1.3 million people are living with COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - , and there's no cure - but there's a lot of research into its treatment.
In one type of COPD, emphysema, disease destroys alveoli in the lung so they can't transfer oxygen into the blood. It doesn't just mean there's less working lung, it means the now useless lung is taking up chest space so the patient can't inhale as deeply as they need to in order to get sufficient oxygen to the remaining working alveoli. So treatment often focuses on creating space in the chest so that patients can inhale more deeply - that means either surgery, or finding a way to make the emphysematic lung tissue take up less space. And either of those approaches have their own complications.
Respiratory consultant Sam Kemp has recently joined Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and part of his work is testing a new technique with the potential to help patients with condition, working with US company Pulmonx.
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