Artificial Oxygenator Aids Critical Cardiopulmonary Care

An innovative extracorporeal life support (ECLS) device acts as an intravenous lung, infusing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the blood.

The CardiacAssist TandemLung Oxygenator (TLO) is an intravenous oxygenator (IVOX), an injection-molded device with a radial flow design that contains a bundle of polymethylpentene (PMP) hollow fiber membranes, in which blood is oxygenated and decarbonated. Gases, primarily oxygen, are supplied to interior lumens of the fibers, diffusing from the fiber wall to blood plasma to transfer oxygen to patients requiring urgent cardiac or respiratory support. At the same time, CO2 diffuses from the blood into the inner lumen of the fibers and is exhausted.


A two-part polyurethane compound mechanically fixes the end of the hollow fiber membranes in place, creating a barrier between blood and gas pathways within the TLO. The device is designed to be paired with the TandemHeart blood pump, with a low priming volume protecting patients from the negative effects of diminished cardiac or respiratory function. The CardiacAssist TandemLung Oxygenator and TandemHeart blood pump are products of CardiacAssist (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), and are intended for use in adult patients in need of ECLS during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures for a period of up to six hours.

“After our original TandemHeart pump was cleared for use with an oxygenator in 2011, our team immediately began working with experts in the field to understand how to reduce the complexity of cardiopulmonary bypass technology so that more patients could receive this potentially life-saving procedure,” said John Marous, President and CEO of CardiacAssist. “The design of the TandemLung is a direct result of those efforts.”

ECLS is a variation of cardiopulmonary bypass, but while cardiopulmonary bypass facilitates open heart surgery for a number of hours, ECSL can maintain tissue oxygenation for weeks. As the technology advances, support functions other than gas exchange, such as liver, renal, and cardiac support, could also be provided by ECLS. Further improvements will allow application of ECLS to populations currently excluded from such support, such as those in need of systemic anticoagulation.

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