Enhanced Membranes for Active Mixing Oxygenators

Historically blood oxygenators for short-term by-pass surgery or newly developing long-term strategies use systems that are liquid side mass transfer, limited. Long-term therapies require non-porous coatings to limit blood oxygenator wet out. Design advances led to improved fluid dynamics which enhanced mass transfer. In these later systems membrane transport limitations now are major limitations. Compact Membrane Systems (CMS) developed non-porous membranes for long-term blood oxygenation. This CMS first generation blood oxygenation technology produces membranes with 150 cc/min-m2 oxygen transport. With more compact second generation systems there is need for higher flux non-porous membranes. CMS has identified novel routes to improve membrane oxygen transport ten-fold. This improvement in oxygen transport should be sufficient to meet need of improved fluid dynamics second generation products. These new systems should also significantly improve fabrication economics. In Phase I CMS will develop membranes for blood oxygenation with a five-fold improvement in flux. These novel membranes will demonstrate improved fluid dynamics and significantly enhance overall system performance. Animal studies with detailed methodology are included in this program. Membrane integrity will be verified at the end of the tests. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: This technology will broadly enhance the capability for both long-term and short-term blood gas exchange. Therefore it should be of value for long-term treatments for ARDS, ECMO and artificial lung as well as conventional by-pass surgery.