Membranes for extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO): History, preparation, modification and mass transfer

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) has been in development for nearly 70 years, and the oxygenator has gone through several generations of optimizations, with advances from bubble oxygenators to membrane oxygenators leading to more and more widespread use of ECMO. Membrane is the core of a ECMO system and the working mechanism of membrane oxygenator depends on the membrane material, from PDMS flat membrane to PMP hollow fiber membrane, which have experienced three generations. Blood compatibility on the surface of the membrane material is very vital, which directly determines the use duration of the oxygenator and can reduce the occurrence of complications. The mechanism of mass transfer is the basis of oxygenator operation and optimization. This review summarizes the membrane development history and preparation technology, modification approaches and mass transfer theory in the process of oxygen and blood exchange. We hoped that this review will provide more ideas for the study of gas blood exchange membrane.