Re:ECMO pumps blood out of the body, oxygenates it and retur...
by fiter on Friday June 21, 2019 @02:18AM
(#20240287)
Are you saying those details cannot be resolved or are you just talking about ECMO as it exists today?
Re:ECMO pumps blood out of the body, oxygenates it and retur...
by petschge on Friday June 21, 2019 @09:17AM
(#20242228)
Most of those problems have been considered unsolvable for a long time. Recent advanced in artificial hearts and heart assist devices (LVADs) have shown that at least a small fraction of the problems can be solved. For the rest? I'm not even sure if we know if they are solvable or not.
Ventilation on the other hand doesn't interact with your blood, but only has to handle air, which doesn't get damaged by the vent. So it is not impossible to be on a vent for decades. Being locked in the ICU for decades would not be good and luckily is not necessary.