Optimizing Gas Exchange: Modeling O2 and CO2 Transport in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenators with Sinusoidal Fiber Shape

A life support device called an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) aids people with severe respiratory or cardiac failure. Depending on the severity of the patient's illness, this system redirects blood to an artificial oxygenator, which enhances gas exchange and can lead to survival rates as high as 70%. The efficiency of ECMO and the patient's chances of life, however, can be impacted by variables, including the severity of the illness, hypothermia, and bleeding-induced thrombosis. More significant blood prime volumes in ECMO increase the risk of bleeding even if they can enhance gas exchange efficiency. Scientists are studying the micro-ridges on fish gills as a possible model for improving gas exchange without raising primary volume.This work aims to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to mimic the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide in an ECMO. Both cylindrical and sinusoidal fiber shapes are taken into account in the simulation. ANSYS Fluent software is utilized to analyze various characteristics of a micro-oxygenator consisting of one hundred fibers, which is the subject of this study. The study found better carbon dioxide and oxygen transfer occurs in sinusoidal fibers because of their larger respiratory surface area. Nevertheless, a trade-off exists between improved wall shear stress, dead zone size, and pressure reduction. The risk of hemolysis and thrombosis may increase due to these circumstances. Therefore, a multi-objective optimization technique is necessary to select the best fiber shape while taking prime volume, wall shear stress, and dead zone area into account. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of balancing the benefits and risks of different fiber forms when designing micro-oxygenators for ECMO.