Heart-Lung Machines

A heart-lung machine—also called a cardiopulmonary bypass machine—is a device that takes over the function of the body’s heart and lungs during open heart or traditional surgery. The machine circulates the essential oxygen-rich blood to the brain and other vital organs during open-heart surgery, allowing the cardiac surgery team to operate on a heart that is blood-free and still. Some of the more important components of these machines include pumps, oxygenators, temperature regulators, and filters