Around the world, technology is advancing at the speed of light. Dr Suresh Rao KG, Co-Director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support at MGM Healthcare, tells us about ECMO or Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, one of our greatest boons in the medical world. This machine helps individuals with heart and/or lung failure by taking over the biological processes of these two vital organs — oxygenation of blood and release of carbon dioxide. While previous versions of this technology required open surgery, today, only two tubes are placed in the body — one to drain the deoxygenated blood and the other to return the oxygenated blood that is then sent to all parts of the body. ECMO can be used as a bridge to transplant or as a bridge to therapy.