Oxygen Rescue Catheter
University of California, San Diego
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
MAE 156B: Senior Design Project (Spring 2024)
About
Within the lungs, there is an exchange of gases: oxygen diffuses into the blood, while carbon dioxide diffuses out of the blood into the alveoli. Once oxygenated in the lungs, the blood is distributed throughout the body, supplying oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs. When the lungs are severely damaged due to physical trauma or infection, they cannot provide oxygen through the blood to the entire body, and medical intervention must occur to save the life of the patient. Physicians in the ICU intervene often with supplying respiratory assistance, encompassing oxygen administration.
What Do We Hope to Achieve?
Design of a testing setup where we can insert the device, and observe and measure bubbles, and conduct experiments on what factors contribute to bubble size.
Small bubble generation
Less than 50 microns in diameter
Final device target: 10 - 20 microns
Delivering enough oxygen to the patient
100 mL of oxygen/min
Device must fit within a 1 cm tube - roughly the size of the femoral vein (entry point for device)
Why is the oxygen rescue catheter needed?
Currently in the medical field, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) serves as a crucial intervention in cases of severe respiratory or cardiac failure, where conventional treatments fall short. ECMO circuits pump blood outside of the body, then oxygenate it, then pump it back into the body. However, the high cost and high complication rate opens the door for a new solution: a less invasive and less expensive method of increasing blood oxygen levels - the oxygen rescue catheter. The oxygen rescue catheter is an inexpensive, not overly invasive method of transporting oxygen into the bloodstream, bypassing the lungs entirely and allowing the red blood cells to absorb oxygen via microbubbles within the veins themselves.
Final Design and Experimental Results
Link to Executive Summary.
Ceramic Sparger [0.2 micron pore]
Average bubble diameter:
20 microns
Percent of bubbles below 50 microns: 98.6%