History

Attempts to develop a heart-lung machine date back as far as 1813 with an idea proposed by Le Gallois about what would constitute artificial circulation.[1] In the 1880s, Max von Frey and Max Gruber tested the first closed system for oxygenation with return of the blood through arteries in a canine model.[2],[3] Not until 1916, however, with the discovery of heparin by Howell and McLean, could the development of a heart-lung machine further evolve.[4] In 1934, Dr. John Gibbon, considered the father of extracorporeal circulation, began constructing a machine to achieve blood oxygenation.[4] After more than 20 years of animal research and collaboration between Dr. Gibbon and Dr. John Kirklin, the first successful use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was conducted in 1952.[5]