A Perspective on the Development and Clinical Application of Oxygenators: Past, Present and Future

Several therapeutic methods require an artificial lung (oxygenator) to replace the physiological function of lung. For instance, in some acute respiratory syndromes, the patientu0027s lungs are unable to perform their normal function and would need an assistive device to fulfill their performance. Moreover, in cardio-pulmonary bypass, when the heart has stopped pumping, blood is not sent to the lungs, and should be flowed in an extracorporeal circuit, incorporating an oxygenator through a heart-lung machine. The demand to design a proper oxygenator had begun since more than three centuries ago, and has achieved significant achievements so far. Efforts have been devoted to promote the performance characteristics of oxygenators by increasing their hemocompatibility, providing larger contact area between blood and gas phases, reducing blood pressure drop between inlet and outlet flows and lowering their priming volume. This article reviews the history, structural and functional properties of oxygenators and provides a wide perspective of their clinical applications for adults, children and neonates. Moreover, techniques used in different prototypes, as well as limiting factors are discussed. The state of art oxygenators and future aspects towards implantable oxygenators are also introduced which might be effective in motivating biomedical scientists to conduct their researches in this direction.