Performance of a MedArray silicone hollow fiber oxygenator.

A silicone hollow fiber oxygenator was evaluated to characterize gas transfer and biocompatibility. The device's fiber bundle was composed of MedArray's silicone hollow fibers with a 320 microm outside diameter, a 50 microm wall thickness, a surface area of 0.45 m, and a 0.49 void fraction. An in vitro gas exchange study was performed comparing the MedArray device (n = 9) with the Medtronic 0600 oxygenator (n = 6) using Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation standards and blood flow rates of 0.5-1.75 L/min, and an oxygen to blood flow ratio of two. Biocompatibility and resistance studies were performed in vivo using a swine venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation model (MedArray n = 5, Medtronic n = 5). Average O(2) transfer at 1 L/min was 86 ml/min/m in the MedArray device and 101.1 ml/min/m in the Medtronic device. At 0.5 L/min the MedArray and Medtronic device average resistance was 15.5 and 148.5 mm Hg/(L/min), respectively. Both devices had similar platelet consumption and hemolysis. Results indicate that the MedArray device has lower O(2) transfer efficiency, similar biocompatibility, and lower resistance than the Medtronic 0600 oxygenator. Optimization of the MedArray fiber bundle and housing design is necessary to improve O(2) transfer efficiency while maintaining lower device resistance than the Medtronic oxygenator.