As part of an international symposium on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), attendees were able to watch a real-time simulation of an ECMO machine in action at the Heli Otago hangar in Frankton, near Queenstown, last Friday.
Based on the rescue of a 26-year-old man from The Remarkables skifield who had been buried in an avalanche, the simulation showed how lives could be saved by using the machine.
Similar to the heart-lung bypass machine, an ECMO machine takes over the work of the heart and lungs when they are too compromised to function properly, but can be used outside operating theatres.
