Extracorporeal circulation is used in several blood treatment applications including hemodialysis, respiratory support (e.g. ECMO), and blood warming/cooling. The majority of these applications rely on two vascular access sites, one for draining blood and the other for returning treated blood. Recently introduced blood pump technology makes possible the use of a single cannula tidal flow system of exchanging blood between a patient and an extracorporeal blood treatment system. The use of a single cannula system has considerable cost and safety advantages over the current two-cannula system. A tidal flow extracorporeal blood pump (T-Pump) will be developed, composed of a blood pump with an integral flow switching mechanism and controlling software. The pump will be designed and tested with regard to its ability to produce sufficient blood flow to provide total respiratory support to an adult and to provide appropriate blood flow and pressure conditions for hemodialysis. Bench testing will be conducted to characterize the T-Pump system for use in these extracorporeal blood treatment applications.
The technology proposed here will have potential application to all patients with indications for extracorporeal blood treatment and will offer reduced morbidity and cost of care. The hemodialysis market is by far the largest potential application of this technology, and significant possibilities exist in the area of respiratory support (e.g., ECMO). Extracorporeal liver dialysis and hyperthermic circulation as adjuvant therapy in cancer and HIV treatment would also be potential commercial applications for the proposed system.
