Articles: emergency-medicine.
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The authors have developed an ECPB system, which can be applied quickly, safely and easily under an emergency condition requiring cardiac massage and artificial ventilation. Fundamentally, the ECPB system consists of 3 parts; a portable ECPB apparatus, a pair of percutaneous cannulae and a short circuit connecting an oxygenator with the cannulae. The ECPB apparatus is assembled with commercially available components (i.e., a centrifugal pump, a battery pack, a temperature controller, a compact membrane oxygenator with a heat exchanger, etc) and they are placed on a mobile cart. ⋯ The tip of the venous cannula is adjusted to be placed near the right atrium under fluoroscopy. Initiation of ECPB via the femoro-femoral V-A cannulae assures instant and stable supply of oxygenated blood to all of the vital organs. At the present time, nothing is more important than a quick supply of oxygenated blood to the brain to ameliorate the post-ischemic brain damage.