Hattler Catheter
The Hattler Catheter consists of a catheter with a cylindrical bundle of microporous hollow fiber membranes woven into a mat at the end. The Hattler Catheter is placed within the central venous blood stream in the primary vein that returns blood to the heart. The device is inserted directly through the skin into the vein, using a non-surgical percutaneous insertion.
With the catheter placed in this central vein (vena cava), the hollow fibers encounter all the blood flowing back to the heart. When the Hattler Respiratory System is activated, oxygen flows from a console outside the patient, through the catheter and through the hollow fibers. The fiber membranes are permeable to gases. As a result, oxygen (O2) diffuses into the blood stream from the fibers, while carbon dioxide (CO2) diffuses out of the blood stream into the fibers. Excess O2 and CO2 are removed back through the catheter to the external console.
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