Willieford Moses

A Unique Device Identifier (UDI) is an individualized alphanumeric signature associated with a single medical device. Since 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has mandated the placement of UDIs on Class II and III medical devices. As only a few institutions are actually tracking UDIs, their tremendous potential to transform patient care, quality, safety, and research remains largely unrealized.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life support system that circulates the blood through an oxygenating system to temporarily (days to months) support heart or lung function during cardiopulmonary failure until organ recovery or replacement. Currently, the need for high levels of systemic anticoagulation and the risk for bleeding are main drawbacks of ECMO that can be addressed with a redesigned ECMO system.

a Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, USA E-mail: shuvo.roy@ucsf.edu Fax: +415 514 9766 Tel: Phone: +415 514 9666 c Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA