Professor Liu Shuqin shows how an ECMO machine works at Shandong University Qianfo Mountain campus on March 9. [Photo/jinannews]

A 16-member team from Shandong University has developed an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO) which can temporarily function as people's hearts and lungs.

The device is considered the last resort for critically-ill coronavirus patients. Its applications could further push down the mortality rate of the disease, said Liu Shuqin, a professor and member of the R&D team at SDU.

Staff members of the team, who are professionals in electrical engineering, control engineering, cardiac surgery, and intensive care medicine, worked more than 10 years to develop the first ECMO prototype machine in China.

The machine adopts full magnetic suspension technology and is small in size, with a small hemolysis and large pressure buffer.

The machine has been used in animals and ranks among the best in the world in terms of performance.

ECMO bypasses the damaged lungs and pumps oxygen into the blood from outside the body, giving the lungs time to recover while stabilizing the patient's condition, Liu introduced.

At present, ECMO devices in China are all imported. One device costs 1.5 million ($214,175.56) to 2 million yuan, and the cost of starting consumables is generally 40,000 to 60,000 yuan.

"The price for one of our independently-developed ECMO machines is only about one million yuan, and the cost of consumables is expected to be reduced to 30,000 yuan," Liu said.

ECMO is a high-end medical machine with around just 400 sets in China. There are about 20 in Shandong province, including four at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.

SDU applied for three invention patents for the ECMO prototype machine, which is expected to eventually replace imported equipment.

Liu expects that the prototype machine will soon enter mass production, which would give Chinese patients access to the domestic version.

The ECMO development team at SDU has undertaken many national and provincial research projects related to magnetic suspension artificial heart pumps, including four items used at the China National Natural Science Foundation.