Importance

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Abstract

An extracorporeal membrane pump/oxygenator for extracorporeal cardiopulmonary support, which employs a two stage pump system in combination with a membrane oxygenator enclosed in a housing. Where the first pump, in the current embodiment, is an axial flow pump whose primary function is to create secondary flows in the oxygenator at low pressures, and the second pump, in the current embodiment, is a servo-controlled centrifugal pump whose function is to return oxygenated blood back to the patient. It provides the energy needed to overcome the resistance of the return line, and to maintain forward flow at either aortic or venous pressures, thus permitting the use of either veno-arterial or veno-venous bypass. The oxygenator portion of the device consists of two readily made cylindrical membranes suspended to form a tubular flow channel. Blood passing through the oxygenator follows a complicated spiral path such that its effective contact time with the gas exchange membranes is prolonged.

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First Claim