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Artificial lung: progress and prototypes.
Brittany A Zwischenberger1, Lindsey A Clemson, Joseph B Zwischenberger
1University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. bazwisch@utmb.edu
Expert Review of Medical Devices
|July 27, 2006
Summary
The paracorporeal artificial lung (PAL) offers ambulatory total respiratory support for acute and chronic lung failure. While successful in animal models, further research is needed for clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Respiratory Medicine
- Artificial Organs
Background:
- Lung disease is a leading cause of death in the USA, with limited treatment options.
- Current treatments like mechanical ventilation and lung transplantation have significant drawbacks.
- Existing extracorporeal gas exchange techniques limit patient mobility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel device for ambulatory total respiratory support.
- To address limitations of current treatments for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and chronic lung disease.
- To enable a less injurious ventilatory strategy during lung recovery.
Main Methods:
- Development and testing of paracorporeal artificial lung (PAL) prototypes.
- Evaluation in normal sheep and a sheep model of smoke/burn-induced ARDS.
- Focus on achieving total gas exchange for respiratory support.
Main Results:
- PAL prototypes demonstrated initial success in achieving total gas exchange in animal models.
- The device aims to provide ambulatory total respiratory support.
- Challenges in bio- and hemodynamic compatibility need resolution before clinical trials.
Conclusions:
- The paracorporeal artificial lung (PAL) shows promise for treating acute and chronic respiratory failure.
- PAL could offer a mobile alternative to current respiratory support methods.
- Further development is required to overcome compatibility issues for clinical application.