Ension

pCAS – Ension is one of five awardees of a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new pediatric circulatory systems. Ension's device, the pediatric cardiopulmonary assist system (pCAS), is the only system that incorporates novel blood oxygenation as well as blood pumping technology. Our goal is two-fold - simplify and miniaturize the current extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuit while simultaneously improving overall system biocompatibility.

Fetal perfusion – Treatment of relatively simple congenital heart lesions in the fetus may prevent anatomic maldevelopment of associated cardiac structures, reducing long-term morbidity and mortality. A significant obstacle to fetal intervention is a reliable means of fetal circulatory support. Previous work has identified placental dysfunction as the primary obstacle to providing mechanical circulatory support to the fetus. In an attempt to attenuate placental dysfunction and provide an enabling technology to facilitate pre-term surgical intervention, Ension is designing a fetal cardiac bypass circuit which minimizes priming volume and provides adequate gas exchange when the placenta is excluded from the fetal circulation.