Acute respiratory failure is a life-threatening condition that occurs when fluid builds up in the alveoli in the lungs, thus obstructing the lungs from oxygenating the blood. Examples of pulmonary diseases that cause hypoxemia include acute respiratory distress syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mechanical ventilation is commonly used to treat patients with pulmonary failure. Refractory patients need alternative, more invasive treatment, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ECMO has a high mortality rate of 52% and is associated with several complications including bleeding, thrombosis, and brain injury [1].
We have developed an alternative way of delivering oxygen to the body by infusing phospholipid shelled oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) into the peritoneal cavity. OMBs have a pure oxygen (O2) gas core encapsulated by a lipid monolayer and polyethylene glycol brush. The peritoneal membrane lines the abdominal cavity and has a large surface area and is highly vascularized....