Mar 24, 2000

A more biocompatible oxygenator New Terumo CAPIOX RX

Tokyo-based Terumo Corporation has introduced the CAPIOX RX oxygenator, a next-generation product that substitutes the function of the lungs during cardiac surgery by performing gas exchange in the patient's bloodstream.

The high-performance, easy-to-use CAPIOX RX, with its superior gas exchange capabilities, requires a low priming volume and achieves minimal pressure drop. The surface that comes into contact with the blood is coated with the new Terumo-developed 'X Coating', a polymer which reduces the adsorption and denaturation of plasma proteins.

During open heart surgery, the heart is temporarily stopped, and blood no longer flows to the heart or lungs. However, during the operation, the various tissues and organs of the body, including the brain, require oxygen supply as usual. Blood flow is therefore directed through a tube external to the body, where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide is removed (gas exchange), after which the blood is returned to the body. The device which exchanges blood gases in place of the lungs is called an oxygenator, and the artificial process of circulating blood is known as extracorporeal circulation.

Oxygenators function by passing oxygen through a straw-like fiber (hollow fiber), where blood gases are exchanged via tiny pores in the fiber walls. Terumo was the first company in the world to market hollow fiber oxygenators in 1982.

Currently around 38,000 heart disease patients in Japan have open heart surgery each year for conditions that include myocardial infarction, valve disease, or ventricular septal defect ('hole in the heart'), and more than one million such operations are conducted annually throughout the world.

Terumo currently holds top share (approximately 27%) of the domestic market for oxygenators, with products such as the CAPIOX SX. With the release of the CAPIOX RX, the company aims to boost its share to 33%.

CAPIOX RX Features

1. New X Coating
   X Coating, a Terumo development, is used on the surface that comes in contact with the blood. X Coating is made from a polymer which reduces the adsorption and denaturation of plasma proteins, thought to be one cause of blood reacting to foreign substances upon contact.
2. Superior gas exchange performance
   The hollow fibers responsible for the gas exchange are woven, as opposed to the straight formation in conventional oxygenators, improving gas exchange performance by around 20%*.
3. Low priming volume
   A mere 250mls of blood is needed to prime the oxygenator, approximately 75%* the amount required by conventional oxygenators. This reduces the volume of blood in extracorporeal circulation, helping to reduce the need for blood transfusions and infusion therapy during surgery.
4. Reduced pressure drop
   In extracorporeal circulation, blood traveling outside the body is pressurized with a pump, passed through the oxygenator, and then returned to the body. The difference in the level of pressure of the blood before and after it passes through the oxygenator is known as pressure drop. Reduction of this pressure drop to around 61%* of that of conventional oxygenators means less damage to the blood.
   

   *Comparison with Terumo products with the same membrane surface area

In July of 1999, Terumo acquired the Cardiovascular Division of the U.S. company 3M, establishing the capability to offer a complete line of extracorporeal circulation products required for open heart surgery. With this acquisition, Terumo has become the world's third largest manufacturer of cardiovascular systems. The new CAPIOX RX will be released in Europe and Asia as well as Japan, and Terumo expects to further expand its share of the market with this next-generation addition to its extracorporeal circulation systems.

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