Scientists are developing an alternative to the often precarious lung transplant. The new portable lung will oxygenate blood outside the body before it goes through the lungs. The artificial lung is being designed to perform the exact same function of the normal lung and that is to bring oxygen into the blood stream and carry out carbon dioxide from the same blood stream.
This device under development should be a welcome relief for people with breathing problems due to various lung illnesses. Diseases of the lungs have proven to be some of the top killer diseases in the world. Organ donors for lungs have also been few, making the waiting lists for lung transplants interminably long. Also, organ transplant is usually rejected by the patient’s body.
People with chronic breathing problems have been resigned to being attached to an oxygen tank. When the development of the portable artificial lung is completed, these people will just carry a device as small as an eyeglass case. The much-awaited device will take years before it can even be put in a trial stage, according to the British Lung Foundation.
In the meantime, prevention is better than cure. People would do well to take care of their lungs so as to prevent any of the more than 40 known lung diseases. For starters, smokers can kick the habit pronto.
Via BBC
