Nation IN BRIEF : PENNSYLVANIA : Team Plans Implant of Artificial Lung

Doctors at Penn State University’s Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., say they are ready to implant the world’s first artificial lung into a human recipient. They said a membrane lung similar to those in heart-lung machines is ready to be tested, and the search for a patient has begun. The new device will be the first ever to be directly inserted in the body. Artificial lungs for humans have been around for years, but all have involved removing blood to an outside unit for oxygen enrichment. Among candidates for the lung would be victims of near-drowning, smoke inhalation or pneumonia and lung cancer patients in the early stages of the disease.