Ventilators, though staples of modern critical care, have serious drawbacks for both patient safety and comfort, and flexibility issues for clinicians. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that a considerably less intrusive system from a local company called ALung Technologies is about to begin clinical trials in India and Europe. The Hemolung is designed to perform respiratory gas exchange via a catheter inserted into the femoral or jugular vein. The process is essentially similar to traditional extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, but thanks to new technology, the device is touted to be safer and easier on the patient.
Here’s what an article in Pulmonary Reviews in Feb 2009 detailed about the system:
The Hemolung is a small, cylindrical, veno-venous extracorporeal CO2 removal device, said Dr. Batchinsky, a research scientist at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. “It provides roughly 30% to 40% CO2 removal at blood flows in the range of 400 to 500 mL/min,” which, in this ovine study, translated into a CO2 removal of 66 mL/min. The Hemolung requires a prime volume of 300 mL and minimal heparinization.
The military is investigating the artificial lung with the goal of delivering new critical care technology to the battlefield, Dr. Batchinsky indicated. “The Hemolung may be beneficial during the transport of combat casualties with acute lung injury back from the front lines to the Continental US. It is a ‘set it and forget it’–type device that is easy to use and operate.” Additional potential applications include use as a bridge prior to lung transplantation and as an intermittent therapy for ARDS and COPD.
ALung’s expectations of benefits for patients:
Elimination of sedation allows the patient to stay alert, eat and communicate. Elimination of ventilator associated pneumonia eliminates dangerous complications, and should reduce cost of care and length of stay in the ICU. Avoidance of intubation allows the patient to eat, speak and prevents tracheal injury and sinus infection. Reduction in weaning failure should reduce length of stay in the ICU and potential mortality. Reduction in tracheostomies will reduce an invasive surgical procedure to the larynx. Reduced lung injury may reduce the incidence of death.
More at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…
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Product page: Hemolung…