Portable ECMO machine sustains patients in transport for the first time in the U.S.
The Methodist Hospital in Houston is the only hospital in the U.S. using a portable ECMO machine that is designed specifically for patient transport, to successfully transport patients in acute cardiogenic shock.
Physicians at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center at The Methodist Hospital started using the portable Lifebridge device, an extra corporeal membrane oxygenator, which provides complete cardiopulmonary support during the life-threatening moments of cardiogenic shock, when the heart cannot sustain blood flow to the body's organs.
"These patients would not be alive right now, if not for our access to this new device," said Dr. Wade Fischer, cardiothoracic surgeon with the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and director of the ECMO program at Methodist.
The small, portable device provides complete cardiopulmonary support for patients who are in cardiogenic shock, an acute, life-threatening situation in which blood circulation is reduced because the heart can no longer pump enough oxygenated blood to the body's organs. Without mechanical assistance for the heart and lungs, the patient's organs fail and recovery is impossible. Existing heart/lung machines cannot be moved with the ill patient because of their size and weight, and perfusionists are needed to run them. Methodist's new device weighs less than 40 lbs and can be operated by trained EMS workers, medical personnel or perfusionists.
Every year, more than 360,000 people die worldwide due to acute cardiopulmonary failure. In most cases, the failure starts with a heart attack. If the patient is not immedicately given CPR or a shock from an AED, the patient will go into cardiogenic shock, which ends with an irreversible cardiovascular failure if left untreated.
An ECMO machine takes over the functions of the heart and the lung, buying time for the patient to be treated in a specialized hospital or to be moved to where a diagnosis and treatment are available.
Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center