New gadget counters risk of leg amputation for heart patients

Heart centre team who worked on project drew inspiration from cable organisers

- Zhaki Abdullah

A cable organiser – used to hold cords for charging electronic devices so that they are not tangled – may have little to do with healthcare.

But it has inspired a group of nurses from the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) to design an unlikely device – one that ensures heart patients get their life-saving treatment without the risk of leg amputation.

The gadget, measuring about 19cm long with a groove in the middle, is used to secure a catheter or tube so that it does not bend and obstruct blood flow to the legs during treatment.

It is used with a machine called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (Ecmo), which is a life-saver for 50 to 60 patients with cardiopulmonary failure at the centre each year. The life-support machine takes over the functions of the lungs and heart by continuously pumping blood out of a patient’s body, then adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide before pumping the blood back into the body.

However, there are potential problems associated with its use.

One such complication is the impairment of blood circulation to the legs, or limb ischaemia, which can lead to amputation in more severe cases.