The survival chances of children who need an artificial lung are being boosted by a special air ambulance project known as the Kids Intensive Care Transport Service (KITS).

European air rescue alliance Team DRF is working with the ECMO centre of the Children's Clinic Mannheim to help newborns, infants and children who need an artificial lung, known as ECMO (extracorporal membrane oxygenation). "The project assures the professional smooth transport logistics for the sick children. A specialised team of the ECMO centre Mannheim picks up the children at the clinic of origin and flies them back to an ECMO centre with spare capacity. If there is no treatment available in Mannheim, patients can be transported to the ECMO centre in Bremen or to a foreign country within Europe," DFR says.

There are ECMO centres in Graz, Rotterdam and Stockholm. DRF's Bell 412 and BK 117 are used for the intensive care transports. "The 412 is ideal due to its size and its 24 hour availability," DFR adds.

Each specialised ECMO team consists of two paediatric staff, one paediatric surgeon and one intensive care nurse of the University Clinic

of Mannheim.

Donations enabled the Childrens's University Clinic of Mannheim to acquire a new transport unit for the children's transport. "It is globally unique and can be used during the transfer," says DFR.

Special artificial respiration (high-frequency oscillation, iNO) and artificial lung (ECMO) are available in the Team DRF's helicopters. "ECMO therapy can already begin in the clinic of origin and can be continued during the flight into a specialised ECMO centre."

Previously hospitals, particularly the smaller ones, faced problems because they did not have the necessary equipment and special personnel experienced in intensive care transports.

"With the new logistics the survival rates of sick children can be considerably improved. Medical competence is concentrated and applied where it is needed. The ECMO therapy is a staff intensive and costly method," says Dr. Thomas Schable of the University Clinic of Mannheim. Between 1987 and the beginning of 2007 the university's ECMO centre treated 320 children and developed into a competence centre. KITS can be organised through the university clinic or the DRF alert centre.

The ECMO therapy supports or replaces the lung functions, in particular the patient's blood oxygenation, which the patient's lung can temporarily not provide due to a lung defect. The artificial lung (oxygenator) which is connected via a pipe system with the blood pump, is continuously provided with the patient's blood. The therapy is used in a limited time frame, on average between seven and ten days. "During this period the defective respiration organs are given time to relax, to develop again and attain a better circulation," Dr. Schable explains.

Team DRF operates 44 HEMS bases with more than 50 helicopters in Germany, Austria and Italy for emergency rescue and intensive care transport between hospitals.