artificial organs are being developed
How advanced are other artificial parts?
A good demonstration of the power of protheses is on display in the lower limbs of Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter who has just run 400 metres fast enough to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. "Blade Runner", as Pistorius is known, has no legs from mid-calf down, and runs on carbon-fibre blades. His prosthetic legs were ruled to be acceptable for general competition by the IAAF, which said the legs did not give him an unfair advantage.
In medicine, prosthetic hearts have led the way for decades, although other artificial organs are being developed. A medical device firm called MC3 is currently testing a total artificial lung for submission to the Food and Drug Administration in the US. The device is designed to replace carbon dioxide in the blood with oxygen, using the heart's own pumping power.
Artificial livers are in the pipeline, too, although the technical challenges behind creating a whole, mechanical organ mean that most progress has come through growing liver tissue in the lab. Any artificial lung or liver currently in development is designed to be a "bridge to transplant".
click to see the complete article on artificial organs by Hal Hodson
Friday, August 12, 2011
Video: Artificial Lung May Save Lives During Surgeries
Artificial Lung May Save Lives During Surgeries
Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, principal investigator for tissue engineering at the Draper Labs, discusses a 1/100 scale prototype of an artificial lung under development by the Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology.
click to watch a brief video of this artificial ling
http://www.designnews.com/video.asp?section_id=1375&doc_id=
MEMS-Enabled Artificial Lung
MEMS-Enabled Artificial Lung
In a pioneering approach to artificial organ development, engineers at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., are applying semiconductor manufacturing technology to the development of artificial organs such as lungs and kidneys.
Intricate internal structures produced via micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are being tested as vascular systems that could oxygenate a person's blood during surgery. They also could function down the road as part of an implantable device.
"This is important because oxygenators currently used during heart surgery use a significant amount of anticoagulants," says Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, principal investigator in the tissue engineering research being conducted at Draper.
Most artificial lung devices used today consist of hollow, porous fiber bundles inside a hard-shelled jacket. Oxygen is introduced through the fibers and diffused into blood flowing around the fibers. This process often damages the blood for maximum membrane exposure.
Adverse interactions between the blood and device materials such as polyethersulfone may cause clotting. Preventing this requires a high level of anticoagulants, which can cause excessive bleeding and other problems for the patient.
Doctors at leading Boston teaching hospitals approached Borenstein and asked if Draper could research technologies to replace current oxygenating devices. The doctors were part of CIMIT, the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.
The idea was that microfabrication technology developed at Draper for sensors used in defense, aerospace, and commercial products such as digital cameras and the Nintendo Wii game controller might help create an artificial lung with microchannels that mimic the blood vessels in human organs.
The blood-side passages in current hollow fiber lung devices are 200-300 microns in diameter, compared with the 5-10 microns for a capillary. MEMS technology allows the creation of channels that are closer in size to the blood vessels found naturally in organs.
The result of Draper's work is a 1/100 scale prototype device that functions like a human lung. Blood enters and is infiltrated with oxygen in a microvascular network before exiting.
The basic techniques borrowed from semiconductor manufacturing are deposition of material layers, patterning by photolithography, and etching to produce the required shapes. "That's basically a planar process. The two big challenges we had were transferring from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and from inorganic silicon to medical-grade polymers," Borenstein says.
His team is using structures made of silicone rubber in the current prototype. They provide the mechanical strength and flexibility required for the device.
To become implantable, the device would need bioresorbable materials. Those materials would be engineered into a tissue scaffold, which would be seeded with a person's own stem cells and grown into a kidney, a lung, or some other organ. The bioresorbable polymer would disappear after the structure was formed.
Borenstein's work is important in the field of tissue engineering because larger organs such as kidneys and livers require intensive internal vascular structures. But that stage is well down the road.
"Our work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, and for the next phase of development [a device used outside the human body], we are looking for commercial partners," he says. Completion of that phase is very feasible within the next several years, in Borenstein's view.
Other research groups around the world are focusing on other aspects of developing artificial lungs. For example, researchers in Cleveland have developed a prototype artificial lung that functions with air, just like human lungs.
Charles Stark Draper, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, formed a lab in the late 1930s to develop instruments to measure aircraft motion. The lab was later named after Draper, and its work advanced to include missile guidance systems, space exploration, advance robotic technologies, and tissue engineering. The lab was spun out of MIT in 1973.
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=232240&f_src=designnews_gnews
click to see a short video amd more info on this approach for a artificial lung
In a pioneering approach to artificial organ development, engineers at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., are applying semiconductor manufacturing technology to the development of artificial organs such as lungs and kidneys.
Intricate internal structures produced via micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are being tested as vascular systems that could oxygenate a person's blood during surgery. They also could function down the road as part of an implantable device.
"This is important because oxygenators currently used during heart surgery use a significant amount of anticoagulants," says Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, principal investigator in the tissue engineering research being conducted at Draper.
Most artificial lung devices used today consist of hollow, porous fiber bundles inside a hard-shelled jacket. Oxygen is introduced through the fibers and diffused into blood flowing around the fibers. This process often damages the blood for maximum membrane exposure.
Adverse interactions between the blood and device materials such as polyethersulfone may cause clotting. Preventing this requires a high level of anticoagulants, which can cause excessive bleeding and other problems for the patient.
Doctors at leading Boston teaching hospitals approached Borenstein and asked if Draper could research technologies to replace current oxygenating devices. The doctors were part of CIMIT, the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.
The idea was that microfabrication technology developed at Draper for sensors used in defense, aerospace, and commercial products such as digital cameras and the Nintendo Wii game controller might help create an artificial lung with microchannels that mimic the blood vessels in human organs.
The blood-side passages in current hollow fiber lung devices are 200-300 microns in diameter, compared with the 5-10 microns for a capillary. MEMS technology allows the creation of channels that are closer in size to the blood vessels found naturally in organs.
The result of Draper's work is a 1/100 scale prototype device that functions like a human lung. Blood enters and is infiltrated with oxygen in a microvascular network before exiting.
The basic techniques borrowed from semiconductor manufacturing are deposition of material layers, patterning by photolithography, and etching to produce the required shapes. "That's basically a planar process. The two big challenges we had were transferring from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and from inorganic silicon to medical-grade polymers," Borenstein says.
His team is using structures made of silicone rubber in the current prototype. They provide the mechanical strength and flexibility required for the device.
To become implantable, the device would need bioresorbable materials. Those materials would be engineered into a tissue scaffold, which would be seeded with a person's own stem cells and grown into a kidney, a lung, or some other organ. The bioresorbable polymer would disappear after the structure was formed.
Borenstein's work is important in the field of tissue engineering because larger organs such as kidneys and livers require intensive internal vascular structures. But that stage is well down the road.
"Our work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, and for the next phase of development [a device used outside the human body], we are looking for commercial partners," he says. Completion of that phase is very feasible within the next several years, in Borenstein's view.
Other research groups around the world are focusing on other aspects of developing artificial lungs. For example, researchers in Cleveland have developed a prototype artificial lung that functions with air, just like human lungs.
Charles Stark Draper, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, formed a lab in the late 1930s to develop instruments to measure aircraft motion. The lab was later named after Draper, and its work advanced to include missile guidance systems, space exploration, advance robotic technologies, and tissue engineering. The lab was spun out of MIT in 1973.
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=232240&f_src=designnews_gnews
click to see a short video amd more info on this approach for a artificial lung
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
new research in intelligent artificial lungs
Welsh government funds new research in intelligent artificial lungs
Swansea University is looking to develop the world's first intelligent artificial lung, thanks to new government funding.
The device is scheduled for clinical trials in two years and will allow those with low breathing functions and lung diseases to breathe properly and comfortably.
Swansea University is looking to develop the world's first intelligent artificial lung, thanks to new government funding.
The device is scheduled for clinical trials in two years and will allow those with low breathing functions and lung diseases to breathe properly and comfortably.
when an intelligent artificial lung will be available
when an intelligent artificial lung will be available
SCIENTISTS are developing the world’s first intelligent artificial lung which could help patients suffering from life-threatening diseases.
The device, which is just two years away from starting clinical trials, will be able to breathe for people who have lost most of their lung function.
Swansea University, which is collaborating with Haemair Ltd to develop the artificial lung, has been awarded a Welsh Government grant to undertake further vital work on the project.
The device is the brainchild of biochemical engineer Professor Bill Johns, managing director of Haemair, which is based in Swansea.
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/08/08/senedd-to-fund-work-on-intelligent-artificial-lung-91466-29194589/#ixzz1UYHPgHvj
Welsh Government to fund work on intelligent artificial lung - Wales News - News from @walesonline
SCIENTISTS are developing the world’s first intelligent artificial lung which could help patients suffering from life-threatening diseases.
The device, which is just two years away from starting clinical trials, will be able to breathe for people who have lost most of their lung function.
Swansea University, which is collaborating with Haemair Ltd to develop the artificial lung, has been awarded a Welsh Government grant to undertake further vital work on the project.
The device is the brainchild of biochemical engineer Professor Bill Johns, managing director of Haemair, which is based in Swansea.
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/08/08/senedd-to-fund-work-on-intelligent-artificial-lung-91466-29194589/#ixzz1UYHPgHvj
Welsh Government to fund work on intelligent artificial lung - Wales News - News from @walesonline
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bi-Caval Dual Lumen Catheter
The Bi-Caval Dual Lumen Catheter is the world's first percutaneous, single site, kink resistant, veno-venous device designed to enable optimal extracorporeal life support.
The
Advantage
quick animation for using this new lung technology
see more specs at..
http://downloads.avalonlabs.com/downloads/pdf/BiCaval_DL_Product_Sheet.pdf
The
Advantage - Large family of sizes broadens clinical application for neonate, pediatric, and adult patients
- Inserted into the Internal Jugular Vein this patented device is able to match the body's natural flow ratios by simultaneously removing blood from both the SVC and IVC and returning blood to the Right Atrium.
- The catheter's outer diameter is tapered with a smaller tip to ease vessel insertion
- The deflectable inner membrane enables a single piece dual lumen design
- Constructed with an exclusive material which combines the durability of polyurethane and the flexibility and biostability of silicone
- Radiopaque to assist in catheter insertion and placement
quick animation for using this new lung technology
see more specs at..
http://downloads.avalonlabs.com/downloads/pdf/BiCaval_DL_Product_Sheet.pdf
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
Wales: Industry Partnership To Engineer Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
The project, entitled the Development of responsive control systems for an artificial lung, which will allow immobile patients with lung disease to enjoy a better quality of life, has been supported by a £215k grant through the Welsh Government’s Academic Expertise for Business (A4B) programme.
Academics from the University’s College of Engineering have joined forces with Swansea-based companies Haemair Ltd, Haemaflow Ltd, DTR Medical Ltd, and Staffordshire-based EGS Technologies Ltd.
The work builds on the collaboration between the University and the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, which has established Swansea as a major centre in the understanding of blood and its properties.
The project’s director Dr Michael Lewis, Senior Lecturer at Swansea University, said,
“Lung disease is a major problem that affects a large number of people, particularly in Wales. Although Extracorporeal Life Support systems – or artificial lungs – can support immobile patients with lung disease, these devices restrict patients to high-dependency units in hospitals.
“This innovative project aims to develop a prototype small-scale respiratory aid, which is capable of regulating blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in response to patients’ different metabolic requirements – ultimately allowing them to enjoy a better quality of life.”
Edwina Hart, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science described the project as a prime example of the highly innovative collaborative research and development activities taking place in Welsh universities.
“This device has the potential to have a real impact on the lives of many people while the collaboration supports local business. In the longer term, high profile projects of this calibre can help promote the capabilities of Welsh universities and research centres internationally.”
The project has two closely related aims, both of which relate primarily to blood oxygenation by direct blood/air mass exchange.
The first aim is to develop an automated control system for a respiratory aid, which is capable of modifying blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in order to meet the changing requirements of active patients.
The second aim is to study the distribution of blood flow through small-scale prototype respiratory aids.
In contrast to existing devices, the aim is to produce a respiratory aid that does not set pre-specified blood gas compositions. Instead, this innovation will adjust gas compositions to changing metabolic demands.
“The project will enable respiratory aids to mimic the performance of healthy lungs,” added Dr Michael Kingsley, Senior Lecturer and Research Supervisor on the project.
“This will mean in future, patients with lung disease will no longer be restricted to being treated within high-dependency units.”
Professor P Rhodri Williams leads the team from the University’s Complex Fluids group, which will study the detailed blood flow pattern within the device.
He said,
“A deeper understanding of these flows is needed both to maximise the controllability of the device and to minimise the risk of blood clots forming in the device. This study has wider applications to other medical devices that contact blood.”
Professor Bill Johns of Haemair Ltd said: “This project builds on five years of fruitful collaboration between Haemair, Swansea University and Professor Adrian Evans and his colleagues at the Morriston Hospital. A successful outcome should help us ensure both the safety and effectiveness of our artificial lung.”
Dr Dale Rogers of Haemaflow Ltd said,
“The work will provide an ideal test bed for the company’s novel instruments for measuring blood gases. The instruments will help the project and the project will give Haemaflow the experience to evolve designs for a wide range of potential applications in Medicine and Sports Science.”
The project is currently seeking volunteers to take part in the cardiovascular assessment stage of the research. Participants will need to be aged between 18 and 58 years and generally healthy, with no history of cardiovascular problems.
Participation will involve visiting the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Swansea University on four separate occasions for a complete cardio respiratory assessment. All volunteers will be provided with copies of their results.
Source: click to learn more on this progress toward a artifival lung
Wales: Industry Partnership To Engineer Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
A collaborative two-year project between Swansea University’s College of Engineering and industry is helping to develop respiratory aids which mimic the performance of healthy lungs.
Academics from the University’s College of Engineering have joined forces with Swansea-based companies Haemair Ltd, Haemaflow Ltd, DTR Medical Ltd, and Staffordshire-based EGS Technologies Ltd.
The work builds on the collaboration between the University and the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, which has established Swansea as a major centre in the understanding of blood and its properties.
The project’s director Dr Michael Lewis, Senior Lecturer at Swansea University, said,
“Lung disease is a major problem that affects a large number of people, particularly in Wales. Although Extracorporeal Life Support systems – or artificial lungs – can support immobile patients with lung disease, these devices restrict patients to high-dependency units in hospitals.
“This innovative project aims to develop a prototype small-scale respiratory aid, which is capable of regulating blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in response to patients’ different metabolic requirements – ultimately allowing them to enjoy a better quality of life.”
Edwina Hart, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science described the project as a prime example of the highly innovative collaborative research and development activities taking place in Welsh universities.
“This device has the potential to have a real impact on the lives of many people while the collaboration supports local business. In the longer term, high profile projects of this calibre can help promote the capabilities of Welsh universities and research centres internationally.”
The project has two closely related aims, both of which relate primarily to blood oxygenation by direct blood/air mass exchange.
The first aim is to develop an automated control system for a respiratory aid, which is capable of modifying blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in order to meet the changing requirements of active patients.
The second aim is to study the distribution of blood flow through small-scale prototype respiratory aids.
In contrast to existing devices, the aim is to produce a respiratory aid that does not set pre-specified blood gas compositions. Instead, this innovation will adjust gas compositions to changing metabolic demands.
“The project will enable respiratory aids to mimic the performance of healthy lungs,” added Dr Michael Kingsley, Senior Lecturer and Research Supervisor on the project.
“This will mean in future, patients with lung disease will no longer be restricted to being treated within high-dependency units.”
Professor P Rhodri Williams leads the team from the University’s Complex Fluids group, which will study the detailed blood flow pattern within the device.
He said,
“A deeper understanding of these flows is needed both to maximise the controllability of the device and to minimise the risk of blood clots forming in the device. This study has wider applications to other medical devices that contact blood.”
Professor Bill Johns of Haemair Ltd said: “This project builds on five years of fruitful collaboration between Haemair, Swansea University and Professor Adrian Evans and his colleagues at the Morriston Hospital. A successful outcome should help us ensure both the safety and effectiveness of our artificial lung.”
Dr Dale Rogers of Haemaflow Ltd said,
“The work will provide an ideal test bed for the company’s novel instruments for measuring blood gases. The instruments will help the project and the project will give Haemaflow the experience to evolve designs for a wide range of potential applications in Medicine and Sports Science.”
The project is currently seeking volunteers to take part in the cardiovascular assessment stage of the research. Participants will need to be aged between 18 and 58 years and generally healthy, with no history of cardiovascular problems.
Participation will involve visiting the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Swansea University on four separate occasions for a complete cardio respiratory assessment. All volunteers will be provided with copies of their results.
Source: click to learn more on this progress toward a artifival lung
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Artificial lung device pioneered at UK
Artificial lung device pioneered at UK a ‘new breath of life’ for Pike County man
37 years of working in the coal mines in Eastern Kentucky, Ernie Gillispie of Canada, Ky., in Pike County, had black lung disease. Suffering from the condition for more than 25 years, Gillispie said it became a challenge to walk even 5 feet and forced him to begin using a wheelchair in December 2010. However, an artificial lung device pioneered at UK HealthCare led to Gillispie being eligible to undergo a life-saving transplant.
Although there was much uncertainty when the Gillispies first came to UK HealthCare, they were willing to take chances to improve Ernie’s quality of life. “We met with Dr. Charles Hoopes to see if there was anything we could do,” said Vanessia Gillispie, Ernie’s wife of more than 30 years
Hoopes, UK HealthCare’s new director of the UK Heart and Lung Transplant Program and the director of the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program, shared with the Gillispies an option that could save his life, but risk was involved because it had not been done before at UK.
Hoopes recommended Gillispie undergo surgery to allow the use of an artificial lung and double lumen catheter, an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), to improve his condition and quality of life, with the hope that this improvement would make him a candidate for a double lung transplant.
“The goal of artificial lung technology in patients like Mr. Gillispie is to demonstrate that lung transplantation will be effective therapy,” said Hoopes. “If by replacing the lungs with an artificial membrane allows a patient to exercise and function normally, then lung transplantation will benefit the patient and dramatically improve their quality of life.”
ECMO, which is used in cases is so severe that the usual therapy of a respirator, machines and extra oxygen are ineffective, allows blood to receive oxygen from the artificial device. This particular device was created by UK HealthCare’s surgeon in chief, Dr. Jay Zwischenberger and is used worldwide.
37 years of working in the coal mines in Eastern Kentucky, Ernie Gillispie of Canada, Ky., in Pike County, had black lung disease. Suffering from the condition for more than 25 years, Gillispie said it became a challenge to walk even 5 feet and forced him to begin using a wheelchair in December 2010. However, an artificial lung device pioneered at UK HealthCare led to Gillispie being eligible to undergo a life-saving transplant.
Although there was much uncertainty when the Gillispies first came to UK HealthCare, they were willing to take chances to improve Ernie’s quality of life. “We met with Dr. Charles Hoopes to see if there was anything we could do,” said Vanessia Gillispie, Ernie’s wife of more than 30 years
Hoopes, UK HealthCare’s new director of the UK Heart and Lung Transplant Program and the director of the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program, shared with the Gillispies an option that could save his life, but risk was involved because it had not been done before at UK.
Hoopes recommended Gillispie undergo surgery to allow the use of an artificial lung and double lumen catheter, an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), to improve his condition and quality of life, with the hope that this improvement would make him a candidate for a double lung transplant.
“The goal of artificial lung technology in patients like Mr. Gillispie is to demonstrate that lung transplantation will be effective therapy,” said Hoopes. “If by replacing the lungs with an artificial membrane allows a patient to exercise and function normally, then lung transplantation will benefit the patient and dramatically improve their quality of life.”
ECMO, which is used in cases is so severe that the usual therapy of a respirator, machines and extra oxygen are ineffective, allows blood to receive oxygen from the artificial device. This particular device was created by UK HealthCare’s surgeon in chief, Dr. Jay Zwischenberger and is used worldwide.
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