Getinge is a world leading supplier of components to support Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) - a therapy that supports the function of lungs or a heart that has ceased working.
Invented in
the 1960s to facilitate heart bypass surgery, ECLS techniques and technologies
have been refined to the point that they are used increasingly in Japan, Europe
and, more recently, in the US.
“Basically, we take blood out of one of the big veins in the body," says
David A. Kaufman, MD, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at NYU School of
Medicine in New York, US. "We run it through a chamber where we are able
to extract the carbon dioxide and put in a high concentration of oxygen. Then,
that blood is injected back into another vein."
ECLS is primarily
a way to buy time and keep the blood oxygenated limiting the damage to the
lungs in the most critical situations—like multi-organ failure—while doctors
can figure out how to save the patient. The technique has potential in the case
of trauma, while a patient awaits organ donations, or in the treatment of acute
infectious disease, when a ventilator could cause damage.
"There are times when a patient’s lungs are in such bad shape that the
force that a mechanical ventilator needs to apply to get any gas into the lungs
is very high," Dr. Kaufman says. "ECLS allows us to make sure that
we're not adding to the damage that's already occurring from the patient's
underlying disease."
Getinge has a
broad, high-end product portfolio for short-term or prolonged ECLS that
includes a choice of devices and consumables to provide individual and
sufficient extracorporeal heart and lung support, such as centrifugal pumps,
oxygenators, heater units, tubing sets, and catheters and cannulae. During the
COVID-19 outbreak, ECLS therapy has provided support to acute care patients
around the world in need of further life support than a ventilator can provide.
“We have seen
a rising demand for ECLS therapy related products and will continue to increase
our production to help our customers save more lives”, says Lena Hagman, EVP
Quality & Regulatory Compliance & Managing Director Cardiopulmonary at
Getinge. “Getinge has increased production output of Heart Lung Support (HLS)
Advanced Sets and Permanent Life Support (PLS) Sets this year by more than 30%
at our production facility in Hechingen and 110% in Rastatt and we have
ambitious plans for continued growth.”
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