A multimodal strategy for assessing oxygenator degradation during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO): an in vitro evaluation

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides temporary cardiopulmonary support via an oxygenator. However, reliable oxygenator monitoring remains limited. This study examined whether multimodal condition parameters can be combined into an exploratory strategy for assessing oxygenator degradation. In vitro degradation was analyzed using blood flow- and gas exchange-related parameters. Temporal trends were evaluated with linear mixed-effects models, and principal component analysis with change-point analysis of the first principal component (PC1) was used to identify common patterns and structural transitions. All parameters showed significant temporal trends. PC1 explained 68.52 %–83.67 % of the total variance, with structural transitions detected between 186 and 253 min. The proposed approach may support exploratory, data-driven assessment of oxygenator degradation during ECMO.