A new method of injecting oxygen into the blood helps keep patients alive when they cannot breathe during complex surgeries, was found by researchers. The breakthrough research could help doctors to perform critical surgeries. The new approach works by injecting oxygen molecules enclosed in fatty molecules straight into the bloodstream.
The new approach could give patients an extra thirty minutes of life when they cannot breathe. Lead researcher John Kheir from the Boston Children`s Hospital, invented the landmark technique. He started to work on the idea of bypassing the pulmonary system and inserting oxygen directly into the blood. Early trials showed that the intervention could in theory be very thriving.
One hundred years ago, an attempt to inject pure oxygen into the bloodstream in form of gas was failed unfortunately, because it formed dangerous bubbles in the veins. But, now Dr Kheir found that using fatty molecules called lipids was the best way to retain oxygen into the blood stream after using sound waves.
These sound waved are used to catch the two substances together into particles, which are so small that they can only be seen with the help of a microscope. Then particles were made up into a liquid which is very heavily oxygenated ,carrying three to four times the oxygen content of patents’ own red blood cells.
When researchers administered the liquid form of the solution to lab mice, which were entirely enable to breathe, remained alive for fifteen minutes and they were at lower risk of health complications. They hope when it would be used on humans, the oxygen would probably last for thirty minutes, though injecting it for any longer could damage the patient`s blood.
This is a short-term oxygen alternative, an approach to safely inject oxygen gas to support patients during a critical few minutes. The technique could become routine for doctors and paramedics dealing with emergency situations. This could be stored in syringes on every code cart in a hospital, ambulance or transport helicopter to help stabilise patients who are having difficulty breathing, concluded, Dr Kheir.