Abstract
Respiratory disease remains a pervasive medical condition amongst the pediatric health population. Mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are used to bridge patients to transplant or recovery when conventional therapy fails. Patients undergoing these treatments may be sedated for extended periods of time, resulting in deconditioning of the patient’s musculature. Patients who remain awake on ECMO, however, can participate in physical therapy and combat muscle wasting. Typical ECMO circuits are complex and present a major consumer of hospital resources for these patients undergoing rehabilitation and ambulation. Our research group has pursued the integration of mechanical circulatory and respiratory assistance into a compact platform device, the ModELAS, to address this clinical need. The aim of this review is to summarize published work on the pediatric application of the ModELAS. A breadth of topics will be reviewed, including the design requirements, device evolution, in-vitro results, and in-vivo results of the device.