The goal of this project is to develop an extracorporeal device to remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from a relatively small flow rate of blood. This decarboxylator device could help support patients when respirators fail to remove sufficient C02, or be used in place of respirators in patients with moderate C02 retention. The decarboxylator system will be created by developing a new disposable package for the BioLogic dialysis machine. This machine is design to perform dialysis through a single blood access (subclavian catheter or needle) using a plate dialyzer both for chemical clearance and for pumping blood. We will design a disposable package (DC pack) with a suspension of calcium hydroxyl which will move through a screen plate dialyzer in a to-and-fro manner to maintain fluidity. Within the dialyzer, the calcium hydroxide will exchange its hydroxyl for bicarbonate, removing almost all of the blood bicarbonate without excessive calcium or hydroxyl return to the blood. In vitro tests during Phase I will determine the CO2 removal rate, calcium return, and pH changes caused by the BioLogic-DC system. These studies will indicate whether the system has potential for assisting patients in respiratory failure.
