Device for determining the characteristics of blood flow through coronary bypass grafts

摘要

A narrow x-ray beam is scanned through the chest cavity of a subject to create a scattered radiation signal. The scattered radiation signal is used to construct a tomographic image of the contents of the subject's chest cavity on a display screen. A crosshair on the display screen is used to mark the location of a bypass graft in the image. A computer senses the position of the crosshair and subsequently positions a fluorescence detector over the subject to interrogate the location of the bypass graft within the chest cavity. A tracer material injected into the subject fluoresces as it passes through the irradiated bypass graft. The resulting fluorescence transient is recorded and provides a measure of graft patency and flow characteristics.