Development of a membrane oxygenator for ECMO using a novel fine silicone hollow fiber

One of the limitations of conventional silicone hollow fiber oxygenators compared with microporous membrane oxygenators is poor gas permeability. However, the silicone hollow fiber is free from plasma leakage, which is the major life limiting factor of the microporous membrane oxygenator. It has been difficult to fabricate a fine, thin hollow fiber for reduction of resistance to gas permeability because of the poor mechanical strength of conventional silicone materials. The authors developed a novel silicone material with sufficient mechanical strength, and a fine silicone hollow fiber with a diameter of 30 microns and wall thickness of 50 microns, which is approximately half that of a conventional silicone hollow fiber. Using this newly developed silicone hollow fiber, the authors developed a compact extracapillary flow membrane oxygenator. The oxygenator consists of fine silicone hollow fibers inserted in a housing made of polycarbonate. The housing is a cylindrical case, 20 cm long and 55 mm in inside diameter. The hollow fibers are cross-wound. The surface area of the membrane is 2.0 m2, and priming volume is 230 ml. Gas transfer performance of the newly developed oxygenator was evaluated by in vitro experiments. Oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer rates were 195 ml/min and 165 ml/min, at a blood flow rate 3 L/min. The novel silicone membrane oxygenator developed in this study can be used for extended duration in such applications as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.