A data acquisition card for noninvasive cardiac measurement

摘要

Adata acquisition card with onboard intelligence plays a key role in a noninvasive method of measuring cardiac performance. Clinicians and researchers are using the unobtrusive diagnostic method of bioimpedance cardiography to collect information onthe cardiac status of patients without the risk of alternative cardiac performance measurements. One of the biggest challenges in designing diagnostic instruments based on bioimpedance cardiography is the need to continuously collect large volumes of data points without missing samples, while the host processor is busy with other tasks. The Cardiac Output Program for Windows (COP_WIN, Bio-Impedance Technology, Inc., Chapel Hill, NC) overcomes these problems by using a data acquisition card with its ownprocessor that can collect data regardless of the status of the host processor. The tool helps researchers generate a wealth of data on the effects of dietary changes, exercise training, and pharmacological treatment.