Hollow fiber membrane oxygenator

✍ Scribed by Skiens, W. E. ;Lipps, B. J. ;Clark, M. E. ;McLain, E. A.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1971
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 884 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9304
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.820050214

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Hollow fibers have been produced and evaluated for use as membrane oxygenators in an artificial heart device. Gas permeable capillaries now commercially available are unsuitable for this use because of: (1) low percent open cross‐sectional area, (2) large internal diameter, and (3) high cost. A number of polymers were initially selected for evaluation because of their reported high gas permeabilities. Those selected include a number of rubbers of various compositions, certain poly‐α‐olefins and an experimental thermoplastic silicone rubber copolymer. These materials were first evaluated as flat membranes (films) for their gas permeabilities and also for ease of preparation in hollow fiber form. Hollow fibers were prepared from the most promising of those studied, poly‐4‐methylpentene‐1 and the thermoplastic polydimethylsiloxane copolymer. Fibers, ranging in the size from 30 to 300 μ ID, were spun with open cross‐sectional areas of 40‐65%. Oxygen and carbon dioxide permeabilities measured on these fibers were compared to that of SilasticDow Corning medical grade poly (dimethylsiloxane).

rubber membranes. These permeabilities range from 1/20 that of Silastic rubber for unmodified poly‐4‐methylpentene‐1 to 2/3 for the thermoplastic silicone copolymer. Modification of poly‐4‐methylpentene‐1 has made it possible to increase it's permeability by tenfold, while still maintaining physical properties necessary to spin and fabricate this material.