Cardiopulmonary Bypass Equipment: Applications Types and Uses

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Equipment

Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) is a procedure that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery, allowing blood to circulate and the body's oxygen content to be maintained. The Cardiopulmonary Bypass Equipment pump is also known as a heart-lung machine or simply "the pump." Perfusionists run cardiopulmonary bypass pumps, which are medically guided by anesthesiologists and physically directed by cardiac surgeons who attach the pump to the patient's body.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Equipment is a type of extracorporeal circulation. Because working on a beating heart is challenging, cardiopulmonary bypass is routinely employed in cardiac surgery. CPB is frequently used to sustain circulation during operations that require opening the chambers or working on the veins providing blood to the heart. The gadget feeds the blood cells and helps them to maintain cellular respiration even when they are being operated on.

CPB can be used to induce whole-body hypothermia, a state in which the body can be kept cold for up to 45 minutes without receiving any oxygen (blood flow). Permanent brain damage occurs in three to four minutes if blood flow is halted at normal body temperature; death may occur soon after. Cardiopulmonary Bypass Equipment can also be used to rewarm people who have been hypothermic. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a simpler variant of CPB that is occasionally used to keep neonates alive with major birth abnormalities or to oxygenate and maintain organ transplant recipients until replacement organs can be found. CPB bypasses the heart and lungs to mechanically circulate and oxygenate blood for the body. While the surgeon works in a bloodless surgical area, a heart-lung machine maintains perfusion to other human organs and tissues.

To remove blood from the body, the surgeon inserts a cannula into the right atrium, vena cava, or femoral vein. The cannula is attached to isotonic crystalloid solution-filled tubing. The cannula removes venous blood from the body, which is subsequently filtered, chilled or warmed, oxygenated, and returned to the body. The cannula for returning oxygenated blood is commonly placed in the ascending aorta, although it can also be placed in the femoral artery. Heparin is given to the patient to avoid clotting, and then protamine sulfate is given to reverse the effects of the heparin. Hypothermia is maintained throughout the operation, with body temperatures ranging from 28°C to 32°C (82.4–89.6°F). During CPB, the blood is chilled and returned to the body. The body's basal metabolic rate drops when the blood cools, lowering the need for oxygen. The blood has a higher viscosity when it is chilled, but the crystalloid solution used to prime the bypass tubing dilutes it.