INLINE BLOOD VISCOMETER FOR CONTINUALLY MONITORING THE CIRCULATING BLOOD OF A LIVING BEING

摘要

An inline blood viscometer that continuously monitors the circulating blood of a living being undergoing a surgical procedure where knowledge of the being's current blood viscosity is crucial. The viscometer diverts a portion of a living being's circulating blood into a pair of riser tubes (R1, R2), connected together at upper and lower ends. The lower ends are connected through respective valves and a flow restrictor (52) of known dimensions. Through valve manipulation, the viscometer creates a respective blood column in each riser tube of a different height to establish a pressure differential between the columns. The blood columns are then placed into fluid communication through the flow restrictor and the changing heights of the columns are monitored over time. Using this data along with flow restrictor/riser tube dimensions, blood viscosity is calculated. The flow restrictor/riser tubes are then rinsed/dried in preparation for the next viscosity determination run.