Continuous measurement of blood volume in left or right heart chamber by creation of transcardial field and measurement of transcardial conductance

摘要

An electrode (E1) is placed in the vena cava superior and another (E2) just below the sternum and current applied to create a transcardial field. Two or more electrodes (E3-E8) are placed on the left hand side of the rib cage. The electrical potential between the latter electrodes is used to measure transcardial conductance, from which the blood volume in the left or right heart chamber can be calculated. Commercially available equipment is used.