BACKGROUND Echocardiography is a key investigation in the management of patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). However, echocardiographic images are often non-diagnostic in this patient population. Contrast-enhanced echocardiography may overcome many of these limitations but contrast microspheres are hydrodynamically labile structures prone to destruction from shear forces and ...

• Keports of support of the heart in acute failure both in man and in experimental animals" have been published. The means investigated include: (1) heart-lung bypass, from the cava through an oxygenator and pump to the aorta;'" (2) veno-arterial pumping without oxygenator ; ' ' ' 3 ' 4 > (3) aortic synchronized counter pulsation to lower the pressure during left ventricular ejection and to rai...

oxygenator containing 30p~-cytochalasin Band returned to the control oxygenator, and a further influx of glucose determined 4min later. The glucose concentration in both oxygenators was the same. The results (Table 2) show that the inhibition is completely reversed within 4min of perfusing the brain with cytochalasin-free blood. The rapid reversibility of the inhibition is in agreement with stu...

This report describes the assessment of three specific safety-related specifications in the consideration of an alternate oxygenator; first the grip strength relationship between various oxygenator connectors and SMARxT tubing, second, the grip strength of various biopassive tubings and an isolated SMARxT connector, and finally, the accuracy of the arterial outlet temperature measurement. Grip ...

Vacuum-assist venous drainage (VAVD) can increase venous blood return during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) procedures. However, the negative pressure created in the closed cardiotomy reservoir can be transmitted to the oxygenator if a nonocclusive or centrifugal arterial pump is used, resulting in bubble transgression (BT) from the gas to blood compartment of the oxygenator. We analyzed the vacu...

OBJECTIVE Our approach to the extracardiac conduit Fontan operation has evolved over time from full-pump, to partial-pump, to completely off-pump. This study is designed to report our overall experience with the extracardiac conduit Fontan operation and to evaluate the evolution in bypass technique on postoperative outcomes. METHODS From September 1992 to April 2005, 285 patients, median age ...

With the initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), using a membrane oxygenator, the drop in circulating fentanyl concentration is greater than can be attributed to dilution alone. This study examined the Scimed brand (2A-800) membrane oxygenator as a site of fentanyl binding. Initial experiments used an assembled CPB circuit. Subsequent dissection and analysis of the oxygenator revealed that ...

S INCE THE ADVENT OF OPEN-HEART SURgery , surgeons and pump-oxygenator technicians have striven to niake their work more simple, yet remain within safe boundaries. The purpose of this paper is to present two details we have adopted in our pump-oxygenator circuit. In many pump-oxygenators, the venous blood from the patient is returned to the top of a venous reservoir where it then falls down int...