An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

DGMC researchers first in Department of Defense to test new device

  • Published
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Medical Group
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Researchers at David Grant USAF Medical Center recently became the first Department of Defense recipients of a portable heart and lung machine that is expected to revolutionize air transport of critically injured troops. The CARDIOHELP life support system is a versatile device that can temporarily do the work of the heart and lungs in patients with severe injuries. The new device was designed to allow these patients to be transported easily between hospitals by air evacuation.

The CARDIOHELP is specifically designed to let the lungs and heart rest and heal while still providing the brain and other vital organs with oxygenated blood. The device removes carbon dioxide from the blood, adds oxygen, and then returns the blood back to the patient's circulation.

"This process, known as extracorporeal life support, or ECLS, is the same technology used to circulate blood during open heart surgeries," explained Maj. (Dr.) David Watson, 60th Medical Group director of the clinical investigation facility at DGMC. "The difference is that the CARDIOHELP machine has been reduced from the size of a small couch to that of a toaster oven."

According to Watson, the device is light enough to be carried by one person and compact enough for transport in a helicopter or vehicle.

The portable CARDIOHELP device was previously used in Europe, but is now being introduced on a limited basis in the United States. DGMC is among the first facilities in the country to receive the new device, donated by Maquet Cardiovascular of Wayne, New Jersey.

Their gift, valued at $250,000, will allow CIF researchers to evaluate the effects of tactical, high altitude and long-haul flights on patients who require advanced life support.
Heart and lung machines like the CARDIOHELP are becoming increasingly important in treating troops with severe blast injuries to the lungs following improvised explosive device attacks.

In December, researchers at the CIF, under the direction of Col. (Dr.) Jerry Pratt, 60th Surgical Operations Squadron chief of cardiothoracic surgery, completed their first live animal testing with the CARDIOHELP with excellent results. After several more ground tests, researchers plan to move testing from the lab to the flight environment, supported by a grant from the Air Force Surgeons General Office.

"Rigorous documentation of the effects of g-forces and high altitude on ECLS has never been formally studied, and may be used to develop clinical practice guidelines for military ECLS air transportation," Watson said.

"This groundbreaking translational research will give the Air Force the ability to provide seamless advanced critical care from the point of injury to the state side ICU, a feat unrivalled by any other military in the world."