--- title: Three Lakes Foundation and MATTER announce collaboration to source solutions for pulmonary fibrosis description: The Pulmonary Fibrosis Innovation Challenge asks innovators to submit ideas that increase awareness and accelerate therapies for the three million people living with PF. image: https://blog.matter.health/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pulmonary-fibrosis-innovation-challenge-announcement-2.png --- ![Three Lakes Foundation and MATTER announce collaboration to source solutions for pulmonary fibrosis](https://blog.matter.health/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pulmonary-fibrosis-innovation-challenge-announcement-2.png) [← Back to Blog](https://blog.matter.health/) # Three Lakes Foundation and MATTER announce collaboration to source solutions for pulmonary fibrosis [ MATTER ](https://blog.matter.health/author/matter) February 18, 2020 ## The Pulmonary Fibrosis Innovation Challenge asks innovators to submit ideas that increase awareness and accelerate therapies *Chicago, IL* — Three Lakes Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the diagnosis, care and treatment of people suffering from pulmonary fibrosis (PF), and MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, today announced the launch of a new innovation challenge focused on accelerating solutions for PF: a family of related lung diseases that causes progressive scarring of lung tissue and affects more than three million people around the world. “Pulmonary fibrosis remains a confounding and fairly unknown disease. Delay in timely diagnoses results in lost time for optimal care and early therapeutic intervention,” said Dana Ball, executive director of Three Lakes Foundation. “We’re calling on healthcare innovators to think creatively about how to introduce new, cutting-edge solutions to the PF landscape that will improve time to diagnosis and preservation of quality of life.” **Three Lakes Foundation has committed more than $100,000 toward solutions that will help to advance disease awareness, shorten the time to diagnosis, preserve health and improve care for PF patients. Examples of desired solutions include:** * Engagement tools and technologies that help patients, caregivers and providers better understand and engage with their disease * Data-enabled digital, medical or imaging tools that improve screening, detection and the accuracy of PF diagnosis * Novel interventions and tools that enable both patients and caregivers to preserve patient health, well-being and quality of life * New tools, technologies and solutions that improve upon the oxygen therapy that many people living with PF rely on (Examples include product and canister innovation and improvements in battery life) “At MATTER, we take pride in helping partners accelerate the development of products and solutions that address conditions with high unmet clinical need,” said Arun Bhatia, senior director of partner engagement at MATTER. “We’re honored to be a part of the effort to improve care and quality of life for the PF community today, and to help foster the innovation that will lead to tomorrow’s cure.” Challenge finalists will be invited to participate in an idea incubation period and bootcamp at MATTER, where they will refine their value proposition and perfect their pitch. The challenge will culminate in a final pitch day at MATTER on June 4, 2020, following an all-day PF Innovation Forum. The top solution will receive $50,000 and a one-year membership at MATTER. Innovators with solutions of all stages, from early stage ideas and university-based concepts to marketed solutions, are encouraged to apply. Interested companies can learn more by visiting the [competition website](https://blog.matter.health/challenges/pf-innovation-challenge/?utm_source=press_release&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=pf_innovation_challenge) and by attending the [information session](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/94871540331) at MATTER on Tuesday, March 24. Applications are due by 11:59pm CST on Tuesday, April 14. **About PF** Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a family of related lung diseases that are characterized by scarring in lung tissue. Over time, the scarring can make it difficult for oxygen to get into the blood. More than 200,000 Americans are living with PF — many of whom depend on therapeutic, supplemental oxygen around the clock. PF symptoms often mimic other, more common diseases, making it very difficult to diagnose. **About Three Lakes Foundation** Three Lakes Foundation (TLF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of Pulmonary Fibrosis, improving care for affected individuals and accelerating the development of promising new technologies and treatments. Through strategic partnerships and impact funding, TLF aims to improve time to diagnosis and ensure every patient has access to treatments that preserve health and quality of life until a cure can be realized. For more information, please visit [threelakesfoundation.org](https://threelakesfoundation.org/). **About MATTER** At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 200 cutting-edge startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit [matter.health](https://blog.matter.health/) and follow @MATTERhealth. [matter challenges](https://blog.matter.health/tag/matter-challenges), [matter news](https://blog.matter.health/tag/matter-news) ## Related reads ### [Three Lakes Foundation and MATTER announce project to empower pulmonary fibrosis patients, caregivers and providers to share experiences and inspire innovation](https://blog.matter.health/https/blog.matter.health/three-lakes-foundation-and-matter-announce-pf-perspectives-project) The PF Perspectives Project asks members of the pulmonary fibrosis community to identify their... [![](https://blog.matter.health/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/PF-perspectives-headshots-2.png?width=352&name=PF-perspectives-headshots-2.png) ](https://blog.matter.health/community-members-share-pulmonary-fibrosis-stories) ### [What’s it like to live with or care for someone with pulmonary fibrosis? Community members answer.](https://blog.matter.health/community-members-share-pulmonary-fibrosis-stories) For many of the three million people worldwide living with the respiratory disease pulmonary... [![](https://blog.matter.health/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pf-innovation-challenge-closes-final-2.png?width=352&name=pf-innovation-challenge-closes-final-2.png) ](https://blog.matter.health/2020-pulmonary-fibrosis-innovation-challenge-ends) ### [2020 Pulmonary Fibrosis Innovation Challenge ends with top solutions aligned to patient imperatives](https://blog.matter.health/2020-pulmonary-fibrosis-innovation-challenge-ends) Medtech venture oxyGEN named winner Three Lakes Foundation, the sponsor of the 2020 Pulmonary... ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "MATTER", "url" : "https://blog.matter.health/author/matter" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-19T00:08:38.050Z", "datePublished" : "2020-02-18T06:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Three Lakes Foundation and MATTER announce collaboration to source solutions for pulmonary fibrosis", "image" : [ "https://blog.matter.health/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pulmonary-fibrosis-innovation-challenge-announcement-2.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.matter.health/three-lakes-foundation-and-matter-announce-collaboration-to-source-solutions-for-pulmonary-fibrosis", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.matter.health/hubfs/MATTER-Logo-POS-800x375px-%5BQ1.2024%5D.png" } } } ```