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During heart surgery, a heart-lung machine is used for temporary replacement of the functions of both the heart and lungs. The main parts of the machine are the arterial pump (taking over the pump function of the natural heart) and the artificial lung (oxygenator), including a heat exchanger, blood lines and a blood reservoir. Blood is drained from the venous circulation into a blood reservoir, passed through the oxygenator, where carbon dioxide is removed and oxygen is enriched, and subsequently pumped back into the arterial (oxygen rich) circulation.
A new, emerging field of application for our membranes is for artificial lungs. If the native lungs are injured or diseased, sometimes extracorporeal blood oxygenation remains as the last option to save the life of the patient. Similar to the setup in heart surgery, a set of pumps and tubes and the core device, the oxygenator, take over from the natural lungs. The main difference being the longer-term use of the device, which can last for several days and even longer.
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