First Experience wi th a New Portable Cardiopulmonary Bypass System - LIFEBRIDGE B2T with Percutaneous Femoral Cannulation

Cardiopulmonary bypass was rarely used for patients undergoing emergency circulatory resuscitation due to the large size and complicated set-up of currently available systems. The LIFEBRIDGE B2T System is a new portable system consisting of a disposable patient unit with a cardiopulmonar y bypass circuit, a control unit, and a base unit with user interface. The portability of the system (17 kg, with a 2.5-hour LiPo battery capacity), as well as the simplicity of an automated user interface (including semi-automatic system priming and air elimination), is designed to address these concerns and allow for mobile mechanical support in a variety of situations and settings. In this first experience, we found the LIFEBRIDGE® B2T System to be safe and easy to use even for non-perfusionists and worthy of further investigation in non-standard surgical settings.