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Re:Ventilators 101: What they do and how they work by belltaco on Wednesday March 25, 2020 @11:03PM (#22690473)
Thanks for the explanations.

Isn't there a way to oxygenate blood outside of the body like dialysis? Why isn't that used more?

Re:Ventilators 101: What they do and how they work by unsrsly on Thursday March 26, 2020 @12:47AM (#22690833)
Great question! You are referring to ECMO. The main limitations of ECMO come from the serious complications that can occur, which can include life-threatening bleeding, blood clots, infections, strokes, and brain damage. The number of hospitals in the US offering ECMO is in the low hundreds. It takes an experienced team to use it safely, and if used in the wrong patients, it can artificially prolong suffering rather than saving a life. However, it is still an amazing technology for some patients.
Re:Ventilators 101: What they do and how they work by bryan_w on Wednesday March 25, 2020 @11:34PM (#22690601)
I was wondering this too. It seems like the problem would be the rate of oxygenation of the blood is too high for any current machine to handle and something completely new need to be designed