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Perfusion Technology

MCHP , Manipal
Health Sciences

The Perfusion Technology course offered by the Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP), Manipal was started in July 2012, offering B.Sc. and M.Sc. programmes. A perfusionist — also known as a clinical or cardiovascular perfusionist — is a specialised healthcare professional who operates the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgery and other procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass, managing the patient's physiological status throughout. The programme is a comprehensive, patient-centred education designed to prepare graduates for the dynamic practice of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Highlights

  • Well-equipped laboratories for practical exposure, supported by a super-speciality hospital for clinical skills.
  • Faculty selected for their field expertise and academic experience.
  • Training for a highly skilled role within the cardiothoracic surgical team, alongside cardiac surgeons, anaesthesiologists, physician assistants, surgical technicians, and nurses.
  • Core responsibility for managing the physiological and metabolic needs of the cardiac surgical patient, so that the surgeon may operate on a still heart.
  • Training on the heart-lung machine and its associated components — oxygenator, filters, reservoirs, and tubing.
  • Sole responsibility for managing the patient's circulatory and respiratory functions during surgery.
  • Wider responsibilities including autologous blood collection and processing, implementation and management of the intra-aortic balloon pump, and adult and infant extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
  • In many tertiary hospitals, perfusionists are key personnel in placing and managing patients on ventricular assist devices as a bridge to recovery or heart transplantation, and in supporting patients receiving lung or liver transplants.
  • In certain hospitals, perfusionists are involved in the procurement of cardiothoracic donor organs for transplantation.