Permeability evaluation of composite hollow fibres for blood-gas exchange

Blood gas exchange across synthetic membranes is primarily used in blood oxygenators for short-term (1-3 hours) cardiopulmonary bypass procedures. Long term applications (6 hours - i4 days) of membrane oxygenators include treatment of acute respiratory failure or acute liver failure. There are several types of membranes used in these devices: (1) microporous membranes which have high gas permeabilities but have problems of pore wetting if employed in long-term therapies and (2) homogeneous membranes, e.g. silicone rubber which have lower permeability characteristics but are non-wettable and (3) composite membranes which a very thin homogeneous membrane is mechanically supported by a micro porous layer.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo