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Key people at RightAir.
RightAir develops a novel wearable respiratory assist device designed to alleviate breathing difficulties. Its core product is a low-profile, vest-like system that provides breath support by offloading respiratory effort, eliminating traditional masks or bulky equipment. This innovative approach offers continuous, unobtrusive assistance, transforming how patients manage chronic respiratory conditions.
The company's genesis is rooted in technology pioneered by Jacob Brenner, MD, PhD, a pulmonologist and serial entrepreneur. RightAir originated from this innovation, incubated within the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation’s Medical Device Accelerator. Dr. Brenner’s clinical insight into patient challenges needing respiratory support drove the creation of this integrated therapeutic solution.
RightAir serves patients seeking less restrictive ventilation. The company’s vision is to empower individuals with breathing challenges to achieve greater exercise tolerance, reduce hospital admissions, and enhance overall quality of life through accessible, discreet respiratory care.
Key people at RightAir.
# High-Level Overview
RightAir is a medical device company developing the first portable, negative pressure breathing assistance device designed to make breathing easier for people with respiratory disorders.[4] The company builds a wearable, low-profile device called Air-AD that fits around the torso and offloads the work of breathing without requiring masks, tanks, or cumbersome equipment.[2][3] RightAir serves millions of patients suffering from respiratory dysfunction—conditions that make breathing difficult and often lead to anxiety, depression, and decreased physical activity.[1] The company's core mission is to increase exercise tolerance, reduce hospital admissions, and improve overall quality of life for respiratory patients by providing a non-invasive alternative to traditional ventilation therapies.[3]
RightAir was founded in 2017 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] The company represents a significant innovation in the respiratory care space, positioning itself at the intersection of medical device development and patient-centered design by eliminating the barriers—masks, tanks, and bulky equipment—that have historically limited patient adoption of breathing support therapies.
# Origin Story
RightAir was formed around technology developed by Jacob Brenner, MD, PhD, a serial entrepreneur and pulmonologist who understood both the clinical and patient experience challenges in respiratory care.[3] The company was incubated by Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation's Medical Device Accelerator, providing early validation and institutional support.[3] Co-founder Marek Swoboda serves as CTO and brings expertise in biomedical engineering from Drexel University, with a background in underwater exploration and systems design.[1]
The founding team's combination of clinical expertise (Brenner's medical background) and engineering rigor (Swoboda's technical foundation) positioned RightAir to address a genuine gap in the market: respiratory patients needed a solution that was effective, portable, and socially acceptable—something that didn't require visible medical equipment or restrict mobility.
# Core Differentiators
# Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
RightAir operates within the broader trend of non-invasive medical device innovation, where companies are reimagining how chronic conditions are managed by prioritizing patient experience alongside clinical efficacy. The respiratory care market is particularly ripe for disruption: traditional ventilation systems have remained largely unchanged for decades, and the global prevalence of respiratory disorders—from COPD to sleep apnea—continues to grow.
The timing is favorable for RightAir because healthcare systems are increasingly focused on reducing hospital readmissions and enabling patients to manage conditions at home. A wearable device that improves exercise tolerance and reduces hospitalizations directly aligns with value-based care economics. Additionally, the rise of precision medicine and patient-centered design has created investor appetite for medical devices that prioritize user experience—a space where RightAir's design philosophy stands out.
Within the Philadelphia medtech ecosystem specifically, RightAir benefits from proximity to Penn Medicine, a world-class research institution, and a growing network of hard-tech investors (NextFab Ventures, BioAdvance) focused on early-stage medical innovation.
# Quick Take & Future Outlook
RightAir is well-positioned to capture significant market share in the non-invasive respiratory support space, assuming the Air-AD device achieves regulatory clearance and demonstrates clinical efficacy in real-world settings. The company's founders have the clinical credibility and engineering expertise to navigate the regulatory pathway, and their investor base suggests confidence in the business model.
The key inflection points ahead will be FDA clearance, clinical trial data demonstrating improved patient outcomes, and successful reimbursement negotiations with payers. If RightAir can prove that their device reduces hospitalizations and improves quality of life at a competitive cost, they could reshape how respiratory patients manage their conditions—shifting the paradigm from hospital-dependent care to wearable, at-home management. This positions RightAir not just as a product company, but as a catalyst for broader changes in respiratory care delivery.
