Neonatal life support

A disruptive solution to support life for the most premature babies.

fetaLife is a liquid incubator designed to maintain extremely premature newborns in conditions like the maternal womb, addressing the current problems of extreme prematurity.

Learn more Read the research
0 babies are born at or before 26 weeks of gestation every year in the US and Europe
0 weeks of gestation, or earlier — the extreme prematurity fetaLife is designed for
0 peer-reviewed studies behind the approach (2023)

The problem

The challenge of extreme prematurity.

Each year, tens of thousands of babies are born months before term. At 26 weeks of gestation and earlier, vital organs are still developing, and conventional incubators care for these infants in conditions far removed from those of the maternal womb.

fetaLife is designed to recreate the conditions of the womb, so that development can continue.

The solution

A liquid incubator that recreates the maternal womb.

fetaLife maintains the newborn in a sterile, temperature-controlled liquid environment similar to the maternal womb. Oxygen and nutrients are supplied through the umbilical vessels, the lungs are not exposed to gas, and the infant is monitored continuously and non-invasively.

  • Womb-like liquid environment, not open air
  • Gas exchange via the umbilical cord, sparing fragile lungs
  • Continuous, non-invasive monitoring of the infant
  • Designed to integrate with neonatal intensive care units

How it works

How fetaLife works.

  1. 01

    A womb-like environment

    The newborn is placed in a closed vessel filled with a sterile, body-temperature fluid that recreates the conditions of the womb.

  2. 02

    Support through the umbilical cord

    An oxygenator connected to the umbilical vessels supplies oxygen and nutrients, allowing the lungs and other organs to continue developing.

  3. 03

    Continuous monitoring

    Non-invasive sensors follow the infant's vital signs and organ health, so clinicians can provide care without disturbing the environment.

The science

Backed by peer-reviewed research.

Peer-reviewed · 2023

Extra-uterine life support for the extremely premature

Published in Biomedicines — characterising the liquid-based incubation approach and its physiological rationale.

Read the paper Peer-reviewed · 2023

Transfer to an extra-uterine life support system

Published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology (UOG) — a prospective view on the obstetric procedure.

Read the paper

Preclinical work in fetal-lamb models has shown sustained survival and organ health, advancing the technology toward clinical use.

The team

The team behind fetaLife.

Dr. Eduard Gratacós

Director, Artificial Placenta Project & BCNatal

IP of Research Group in IDIBAPS, IRSJD and CIBERER. More than 640 scientific articles (H-factor 83 WOK, >22,000 citations, Top-1% World Scientist in his specialty according to WOK). PI in >60 projects with 35M€ (6 European), director of 44 PhD theses. Expert (>1,800 cases) and international pioneer in fetal surgery.

Dr. Elisenda Eixarch

Medical & Scientific Coordinator

Postdoctoral researcher. She has published 147 articles in international journals and has supervised 8 doctoral theses. She coordinates the European MULTI-FACT project. Expert in Fetal Medicine and Surgery with more than 100 surgeries.

Dr. Elisenda Bonet-Carne

Executive & Technology Coordinator

Telecommunications engineer and postdoctoral researcher, expert in medical image analysis and processing. She has worked in scientific and business environments, transferring innovation into clinical practice.

Founded in 2025 — a spin-off of Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Hospital Clínic Barcelona and the Universitat de Barcelona, backed by the “la Caixa” Foundation.

Our mission

fetaLife develops a liquid incubator so the most premature babies can keep developing in conditions like the maternal womb.

Contact

Get in touch.

Clinicians, researchers, investors and partners — we'd be glad to hear from you.