Importance

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Abstract

A blood oxygenator which independently controls the rate of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange between an oxygen enriched gas and the blood. The oxygenator of the invention includes a gas inlet mechanism for diverting oxygen enriched gas between two different pathways. The first flow pathway feeds the oxygen bearing gas to a diffusion plate or sparger for the purpose of forming bubbles which diffuse into the blood to facilitate the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the gas and blood. The second flow pathway feeds oxygen down into the interior of the oxygenator as a substantially continuous stream which creates a substantially single gas bubble, or is simple a substantially continuous flow of gas with the oxygenator. This continuous flow of gas affects a gas exchange across the blood-gas interface, with carbon dioxide diffusing into the gas at substantially the same diffusion rate as occurs with the microbubbles diffusing into the blood, but with a lower diffusion rate for the oxygen.

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First Claim