Continuous registration of cardiac output with a new computer system designed for hot-film anemometry: an in vitro study.

We have developed and improved a method for the continuous on-line registration of cardiac output. By measuring blood velocity with a hot-film anemometer probe in the pulmonary artery, cardiac output can be estimated by gated systolic integration of the velocity signals. The integrated value for a certain period can be converted to a cardiac output proportional value. A thermistor placed next to the velocity probe enables thermodilution measurement of cardiac output, which serves as in vivo and in situ calibration. In this paper an in vitro study of the method applied to pulsatile flow is presented. A good correlation was found between real flow and both the velocity method and the thermodilution method. Fluid temperature and changing stroke volume and/or pulse frequency had minimal influence on accuracy, whereas altered probe position required recalibration for the velocity method but not for the thermodilution method. The advantages of the velocity method for the measurement of cardiac output are: The continuous on-line monitoring of cardiac output. The need for the injection of only very small volumes of cold saline, as the frequency of thermodilution measurements is reduced.