A portable medical apparatus for cardiopulmonary aid to patients includes a transportable machine body that integrates an heater/cooler unit and an extracorporeal circuit for circulating the blood of a patient. The extracorporeal circuit includes a line for drawing venous blood from the patient, a line for returning arterial blood to the patient, a pumping unit for pumping blood along the extracorporeal circuit, a heat exchanger for thermoregulating blood in the extracorporeal circuit, and an oxygenator unit for blood oxygenation.

A gas delivery device includes a nitric oxide generating system. The system has a medium including a source of nitrite ions. A working electrode is in contact with the medium. A Cu(II)-ligand complex is in contact with the working electrode. A reference/counter electrode is, or a reference electrode and a counter electrode are in contact with the medium and separated from the working electrode. An inlet conduit is to deliver nitrogen gas to the medium, and an outlet conduit is to transport a stream of nitrogen gas and nitric oxide from the medium. An inspiratory gas conduit is operatively connected to the outlet conduit to introduce an oxygen-containing gas and form an output gas stream of the gas delivery device.

The present disclosure describes a blood oxygenator that includes a checkerboard layout of fluid (e.g., blood) and gas (e.g., oxygen) channels. When viewed as a cross-section through each of the channels of the oxygenator, the checkerboard configuration includes alternating gas and fluid channels in both the x-axis (e.g., in-plane) and in the y-axis (e.g., out-of-plane) directions. The oxygenator described herein reduces manufacturing complexity by using first, second, and third polymer layers that include asymmetrical channel designs. The channel designs include “open” gas channels, which are exposed to the ambient atmosphere. The oxygenator is placed within a pressure vessel to drive gas into each of the open gas channels, which in some implementations, negates the need for a gas manifold.

A method for removal of at least a portion of carbon dioxide from an aqueous fluid such as a blood fluid includes placing a first surface of at least one membrane through which carbon dioxide and at least one acid gas other than carbon dioxide can pass in fluid in contact with the fluid. The membrane limits or prevent passage of the fluid therethrough. A carrier or sweep gas including the acid gas other than carbon dioxide is passed over a second surface (which is typically opposite the first surface) of the membrane so that the acid gas other than carbon dioxide can pass through the membrane into the fluid, and carbon dioxide from the fluid can pass from the liquid, through the membrane, and into the sweep gas.

A blood processing apparatus includes a housing, a shell, a fiber bundle, and an elastic tube. The housing has a blood inlet and a blood outlet and the shell is situated in the housing and configured to receive blood through the blood inlet. The shell includes a surface and one or more apertures extending through the surface to permit the blood to flow to an exterior of the shell. The fiber bundle includes gas exchanger hollow fibers situated about the shell such that gas flows through and the blood flows across the gas exchanger hollow fibers. The elastic tube includes a fiber web situated about the fiber bundle and configured to elastically constrain and protect the gas exchanger hollow fibers during the insertion into the housing. The fiber web has a pore size that permits the blood to flow across the fiber web without filtering micro-emboli from the blood.

Apparatus and methods for providing extracorporeal blood circulation and oxygenation control include multi-stage deairing of blood to provide automated cardiopulmonary replacement to sustain patient life during a medical procedure such as cardiopulonary bypass graft surgery, keyhole cardiopulmonary bypass graft surgery, percutaneous angioplasty, percutaneous stent placement, and percutaneous atherectomy.

Described herein are systems, devices, and methods for an extracorporeal, artificial, placenta. In some embodiments, an artificial placenta and amniotic bed system may comprise a control unit, a gas delivery unit, a gas exchange unit or membrane oxygenator, a fluids delivery unit, an amniotic fluid bed, and a human machine interface. In some embodiments, the artificial placenta and amniotic bed systems, devices, and methods described herein may improve survival rates and minimize long-term disabilities in preterm, gestational-age, newborns. In some embodiments, the extracorporeal systems, devices, and methods comprise an artificial network through which oxygen and nutrient-rich blood may flow into a fetus (residing in an amniotic fluid bed), while carbon dioxide and wastes may be removed, thus re-establishing a form of intrauterine placental circulation.

An artificial lung including a housing having a circular outer wall being enclosed by a first surface and a second surface to define an interior volume, a blood inlet port to permit inlet flow of blood to the housing, a blood outlet port to permit outlet flow of the blood from the housing, a gas inlet port to permit inlet flow of a gas to the housing, a gas outlet port to permit outlet flow of the gas from the housing, and a plurality of baffles concentrically disposed within the housing. The baffles are positioned to define a flow path between the blood inlet port and the blood outlet port. Each of the baffles includes a gate opening to permit flow of the blood along the flow path. A fiber bundle is disposed between the baffles within the flow create mixing and improve gas exchange efficiency.

An extracorporeal blood circulation system reduces the risk of generation of air bubbles entering the circulation circuit associated with placement of a pressure sensor that detects a patient's blood pressure at a blood removal line. Instead of directly measuring pressure at the blood removal line where suction exists, an intermediate part pressure sensor detects pressure between a centrifugal pump and an oxygenator. A controller identifies a discharge pressure specific to the centrifugal pump based on a rotation speed of the pump and a blood flow rate. The discharge pressure and the intermediate pressure values are combined to estimate the pressure at the blood removal line.

An alarm device for a medical instrument includes a first alarm-signal sound output device which outputs a first alarm signal, an output determination unit which determines whether the first alarm-signal output device is outputting the first alarm signal during the specific alarm condition, and an alarm-signal-output stop unit 39 for manually clearing outputting of the alarm signal. The alarm device is configured so that when the output determination unit determines that the first alarm-signal output device has not output the alarm signal, a second alarm-signal output device outputs a second audible alarm signal distinctive from the first audible alarm signal. The alarm device is configured so that when the stop unit does not manually clear a selected alarm signal within a predetermined time after beginning output of the alarm signal, then an audible output characteristic of the alarm signal is changed.