Development of microfluidic oxygenators as lung assisting devices for preterm infants

This paper reports the development of a microfluidic oxygenator and the feasibility of using porous polycarbonate (PC) membrane to enhance gas-exchange. The performance of this oxygenator was compared to another using PDMS membrane and a commercial hollow-fiber based oxygenator. The results showed at least fivefold increase in O2 flux can be achieved using the microfluidic oxygenator. Copyright © (2011) by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society.