Development of a Militarily Relevant Femoral Dual-Lumen Cannula for Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Life Support

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is the most advanced form of life support in existence for patients experiencing acute cardiac and/or pulmonary failure. However, major limitations for the use of ECLS, in both far-forward and transport environments, are the difficulty of its initiation, the need for adjunctive imaging to avoid damage to the heart and great vessels, and difficulty confirming correct cannula placement. We hypothesize that a dual-lumen cannula (DLC) modified for femoral vein placement will make cannula placement by an individual feasible and will overcome constraints of large imaging adjuncts and limited personnel experience. This type of design may lead to a faster, safer, and more reliable delivery of ECLS to the patient. Herein, our objective is to create recommendations for the design of a DLC for femoral vein placement. We present findings from the placement of a femoral DLC using a simulation mannequin and subsequent interviews with hospital, military, and academic personnel.