2020/05/06 by Abhimanyu Das, Das, Abhimanyu, Matthew L. Robinson +3
Engineering · #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fuel Cells and Related Materials #Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices #Medical Physics (physics.med-ph) #Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2005.03118
openalex publication_date 2020/05/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Crises like COVID-19 can create a massive unmet demand for rare blood oxygenation membrane machines for impaired lungs: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machines. Meanwhile, Hemodialysis (HD) machines, which use membranes to supplement failing kidneys, are extremely common and widespread, with orders of magnitude more available than for ECMO machines. This short study examines whether the membranes for HD can be modified for use in blood oxygenation (ECMO). To do so, it considers mass transfer at the micro-scale level, and calculations for the macro-scale level such as blood pumping rates and O2 supply pressure. Overall, while this conversion may technically be possible, poor gas transport likely requires multiple HD membranes for one patient.