ECMO, that is, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also

Lungshield Medical is a pioneering force in the development of advanced medical devices, with a strategic focus on creating a domestic Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) system. ECMO serves as a vital "artificial lung," providing life support by oxygenating a patient's blood outside the body, crucial for sustaining life during severe cardiac or respiratory failure.

The urgency for a domestic solution was clear. The global ECMO market faced a long-standing foreign monopoly, resulting in exorbitant costs for both equipment and consumables, severely limiting patient access to this life-saving technology. Lungshield Medical committed to breaking this barrier by developing a high-performance, accessible ECMO system. LKK Design was entrusted to collaborate on the design and development of the system's core: the revolutionary Lungshield membrane oxygenator.

Lungshield Medical established ambitious goals for the Lungshield membrane oxygenation designproject:

• Extend Clinical Usage Cycle: The primary objective was to dramatically increase the safe operational lifespan of the oxygenator, directly addressing the high cost and clinical risks of frequent replacements.

• Ensure Superior Safety & Efficacy: The design had to guarantee exceptional performance in biocompatibility, gas exchange efficiency, and most critically, reduce the risk of thrombosis for long-term support.

• Achieve Regulatory Success: The product needed to successfully validate its safety and performance in rigorous animal trials, paving the way for market approval and clinical adoption.

LKK Design applied a holistic, user-centered design process to bring the innovative Lungshield membrane oxygenation design from concept to a validated prototype.

Design Research

• Clinical Deep-Dive: Our team immersed in clinical environments to observe ECMO procedures and interview perfusionists, gaining critical insights into the limitations of existing oxygenators.

• Technical Analysis: We deconstructed traditional wound-fiber oxygenator designs, identifying their inherent flaws—long blood path, high transmembrane pressure, and thrombogenic potential—that our new design would need to overcome.

Industrial Design

• Ergonomics and Usability: We designed the housing and interface of the Lungshield oxygenator for intuitive handling and error-resistant setup in high-pressure ICU settings.

• Brand Embodiment: The product's form language was crafted to communicate Lungshield Medical's brand values of innovation, reliability, and patient care.

Mechanical & Structural DesignThis phase was the core of our innovation, defining the unique Lungshield membrane oxygenation design.

• The Laminated Stack Breakthrough: We abandoned the conventional wound design. In collaboration with Lungshield's engineers, we pioneered a proprietary longitudinal and transverse laminated stack design.

• Shorter, Optimized Blood Path: This architecture creates a significantly shorter and more efficient path for blood to travel.

• Uniform Flow Distribution: The stacked layout provides a larger, more uniform cross-section, promoting even blood flow and minimizing stagnant areas.

• Low Pressure Drop: The combined effect is a substantially lower transmembrane pressure difference, which reduces shear stress on blood cells and is fundamental to reducing clot formation.

Prototyping and Testing

• Iterative Prototyping: We employed rapid prototyping techniques to create functional models for assembly verification and initial usability testing.

• Data-Driven Validation: We supported Lungshield in testing the prototypes through extensive bench testing and animal studies, collecting critical data on performance and longevity under realistic conditions.

• Design Refinement: The design was continuously refined based on test feedback, ensuring the final Lungshield membrane oxygenation design was robust, reliable, and ready to meet its ambitious 16-day operational goal.

The collaboration between LKK Design and Lungshield Medical on the Lungshield membrane oxygenation design yielded transformative results:

• Record-Setting Longevity: The Lungshield oxygenator achieved a landmark 16 days of stable operation, surpassing the previous industry benchmark of 14 days and setting a new standard for long-term ECMO support.

• Enhanced Patient Care & Cost Reduction: The extended clinical use cycle directly reduces replacement frequency, lowering costs and minimizing the risks of infection and bleeding associated with circuit changes.

• Disrupting the Market: The success of the Lungshield oxygenator is a critical step in Lungshield's mission to deliver a world-class, domestic ECMO system, breaking the foreign monopoly and improving patient access.

• A Design-Led Innovation: This project stands as a testament to how strategic industrial and mechanical design can be the catalyst for breakthrough medical technology, turning a visionary concept into a tangible, life-saving product.