Optional active compliance chamber performance in a pulmonary artery-pulmonary artery configured paracorporeal artificial lung.

Introduction: Our group has developed a paracorporeal artificial lung (PAL) attached in a pulmonary artery (PA) to PA in series configuration to address profound respiratory failure and serve as a bridge to transplant and/or recovery. We recently designed, developed and converted our passive pre-PAL compliance chamber to an active, synchronized, counterpulsating assist device to relieve right heart strain and offset increased work placed on the right ventricle when the PAL is attached. In this study, we evaluated the safety and performance of both a valved and non-valved optional active compliance chamber (OACC) in a PA-PA PAL for right heart assistance in normal adult sheep.