The respiratory system
The respiratory system is responsible for the gas exchange
O2 in, CO2 out
In combination with the circulatory system
Respiration
Partial pressure and soloubility of gases
The Alveoli – driving force for gas exchange
Solubility of gases in blood
Gas transport and exchange in the blood stream
Decreasing lung function – Common lung diseases
Methods for replacing lung function
Mechanical ventilation – Non invasive
Mechanical ventilation – Invasive
Extracorporeal life support (ECLS)
Timeline of the development of ECLS
Bubble Oxygenator - 1955
Rotating Disk Oxygenator - 1951
Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenators
Task: artificial lung (membrane oxygenator) : O2 enrichment in blood, CO2 removal, Heat exchange
Process: Integration of gas-liquid-contactor and heat exchanger in one module
Advantages: High spec. Interfacial area (minor priming volume)
Status: State of the art
What is a Membrane Contactor?
Types of membranes
Module Principle of Membrane Oxygenators
Commercial devices of ECMO
Current challenges
Limited gas transfer
Lack of portability
Large priming volumes (large quantities of blood outside the body)
Finite lifetime
Limited biocompatibility
—> Huge opportunity to improve patient quality of life and clinical outcomes
Gas transfer of artficial lungs
Limited portability
Priming volumes
Priming volume: Amount of blood that is external to the body at any time that the system is at use.
Reducing priming volumes has been shown to:
Reduce post-operative blood transfusions
Advance patient hemodynamic recovery
Increase hematocrit values during the procedure
Alternative treatments – ECCO2R
Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) devices are specialized ECMO devices that predominantly focus on CO2 removal.
In combination with mechanical ventilation: ->lower tidal volumes required
Driven by patient‘s cardiac output ->Pumpless
Arterio-venous circuit
More cost effective compared to ECMO
Developments in the field of ECCO2R
Limited lifetime
Porous hollow fiber membrane based systems suffer from plasma leakage limiting lifetime to several hours to several days
Silicone membrane and PMP coated hollow fiber artificial lungs can be used from one to two weeks before replacement —> Limited biolompatibility leads to clot formation
Biocompatibility
Synthetic materials trigger inflammatory responses foreign body reactions, fibrous encapsulatioon, and platelet activation
Remember, fibers are need to be hydrophobic…
Heparin-coated devices and circuits have resulted in
Reduced inflammatory response
Improved clinical outcome
Reduced oxygenator failure
Reduced anticoagulation protocol
New polymers for better hemocompatibility
The problem with modern ECMOS
Possible Solution:
Last changeda year ago