An oxygenator with a housing wall, which delimits a housing space with a blood inlet and a blood outlet, a gas inlet and a gas outlet, has a heating element which is arranged in the oxygenator between blood inlet and blood outlet in order to control the temperature of blood flowing through the housing space. For this purpose, the oxygenator has a radiation source and a receiver. The radiation source can be an infrared emitter and the receiver a matte-black surface, or the radiation source is an induction coil and the receiver has a material capable of induction. In a method for regulating the heat output on a heating element of an oxygenator, the through-flow of the blood through the oxygenator and the power of a pump acting on the through-flow are measured, and the heating power is adjusted in accordance therewith.

Embodiments provide an extra corporeal membrane oxygenation circuit, wherein a pump communicates blood from a patient to an oxygenator and thence back to the patient, comprising: a medium diameter venous line configured to accept blood from the patient and communicate the blood to the pump; a medium diameter arterial line configured to accept blood from the oxygenator and communicate the blood to the patient; one or more shunts connected in a series; wherein a first of such shunts is connected to accept blood from the venous line in parallel with the pump and wherein a last of such shunts is connected to communicate blood to the arterial line.

An extension cannula and in-line connector for use with a conventional ECMO return cannula is provided. The extension cannula includes a flexible conduit transitionable between a collapsed insertion state and an expanded deployed state when in communication with blow flow from an ECMO machine via the ECMO return cannula. The extension cannula may be positioned through a conventional ECMO return cannula such that the proximal end of the flexible conduit is disposed within and proximal to the end of the ECMO return cannula, while the distal end of the flexible conduit is disposed in a patient's thoracic aorta to deliver oxygenated blood directly to the patient's thoracic aorta via one or more pores at the distal region of the flexible conduit to improve cerebral oxygenation, maintain systemic arterial pulsatility, and reduce the potential for end-organ injury.

A blood reservoir may be used in combination with other elements such as a heart lung machine (HLM), oxygenator, heat exchanger, arterial filter and the like to form an extracorporeal blood circuit that may be employed in a procedure such as a bypass procedure. The blood reservoir may be configured to receive, filter and store blood from a number of sources including vent blood (from within the heart), venous blood (from a major vein), purge blood (from a sampling line) and cardiotomy or suction blood (from the surgical field).

A method for determining water losses in a membrane gas exchanger of an apparatus for extracorporeal treatment of blood, comprises: obtaining a sweep gas flow rate (Q.sub.gas) in a gas side of a membrane gas exchanger (19); obtaining a water saturation content (C.sub.saturation_out) at a gas outlet (19d) of the membrane gas exchanger (19); calculating the water losses (Q.sub.eccor) as a function at least of the sweep gas flow rate (Q.sub.gas) and the water saturation content (C.sub.saturation_out).

The present invention relates to a system (100) for extracorporeal blood treatment comprising a first inlet (1) for introducing a bloodstream to be treated into the system (100), three blood treatment apparatus (A, D, G), as well as an outlet (2) for discharging a treated bloodstream from the system (100), wherein the system comprises an adsorber apparatus (A) and/or a plasma separator apparatus, a dialysis apparatus (D) and a gas exchange apparatus (G), and wherein the three blood treatment apparatus (A, D, G) are sequentially connected in series in a functional state of system (100) application between the inlet (1) and the outlet (2) of the system relative to a direction of blood flow of a bloodstream to be treated and can be consecutively perfused extracorporeally by a bloodstream to be treated. The present invention further relates to a treatment apparatus comprising such a system, a kit comprising the components of such a system, a method for operating such a system (100) as well as a method for extracorporeal blood treatment with such a system (100).

Systems and methods for providing oxygenated blood to a patient, e.g., in a patient with inadequate or failing circulation, including a dual lumen cannula system for drawing blood from the heart and returning oxygenated blood therein. Methods may feature inserting the dual lumen cannula system through the left ventricle such that intake aperture are positioned entirely within the left ventricle and the tip of the cannula is positioned in the aorta of the patients heart. By fluidly connecting the cannula to a cardiac assistance device, deoxygenated blood may be drained from the left ventricle through the intake apertures and oxygenated blood may be pumped into the aorta thorough the tip.

The device of the present invention includes a dual chamber gas exchanger that is configured for increased flexibility and scalability for many clinical applications. The dual chamber oxygenator can be configured and used in various applications, such as in a heart-lung machine for cardiopulmonary support during cardiothoracic surgery, in an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuitry, as a respiratory assist device for patients with lung failure, and the like. The dual chamber gas exchanger features two sweep gas flow paths and two gas exchange membrane bundles enclosed in a housing structure with various blood flow distribution and gas distribution mechanisms. The gas exchanger includes an outer housing, an intermediate housing, two gas exchange fiber bundles, a blood inlet, a blood outlet, two gas inlets, two gas outlets, two gas distribution chambers and an optional heat exchanger.

A system for heating/cooling a target unit. The system including a heater/cooler unit and a heat transfer fluid module. The heater/cooler unit including a heater/cooler that includes a heater/cooler element and a heater/cooler pump, and a heat exchanger that includes a heat exchange element. Where, the heater/cooler pump pumps a first fluid through the heater/cooler element and the heat exchange element and back to the heater/cooler pump. The heat transfer fluid module including a fluid reservoir with a second fluid that is pumped to and through the heat exchanger to transfer heating/cooling between the first fluid and the second fluid and pumped to and through the target unit to transfer heating/cooling between the second fluid and the target unit.

Disclosed is a method for treating a heart condition by perfusing a drug to an unarrested beating heart of a patient. A closed circuit may be formed with a first drug delivery catheter positioned in the patient's right coronary artery, a second drug delivery catheter positioned in a patient's left main coronary artery, a drug collection catheter positioned in a coronary sinus, the coronary artery, the coronary venous system, and an external membrane oxygenator interspersed between the venous and arterial branches. A drug for treating a heart condition may be perfused through the closed circuit.