Apparatus and method of bioelectrical impedance analysis of blood flow
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining the cardiac output of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
- a first electrode adapted to be disposed within the trachea of the patient;
a second electrode adapted to be disposed on the exterior of the thorax of the patient;
a bioelectrical impedance recorder providing an output, the bioelectrical impedance recorder coupled to the first and second electrodes to pass a current therebetween; and
means for processing the output of the bioelectrical impedance recorder to compute a metric corresponding to the patient'"'"'s cardiac output.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods are provided for monitoring cardiac output using bioelectrical impedance techniques in which one or more interior electrodes are placed in the trachea in the vicinity of the ascending aorta, and one or more exterior electrodes are disposed near the suprasternal notch, so that the resulting bioelectrical impedance measurements reflect voltage changes induced primarily by blood flow dynamics, rather than respiratory or non-cardiac related physiological effects. Apparatus and methods are also provided so that the measured cardiac output may be used to control administration of intravenous fluids to a patient or to optimize heart rate for those patients having pacemakers.
82 Citations
23 Claims
-
1. Apparatus for determining the cardiac output of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
-
a first electrode adapted to be disposed within the trachea of the patient; a second electrode adapted to be disposed on the exterior of the thorax of the patient; a bioelectrical impedance recorder providing an output, the bioelectrical impedance recorder coupled to the first and second electrodes to pass a current therebetween; and means for processing the output of the bioelectrical impedance recorder to compute a metric corresponding to the patient'"'"'s cardiac output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of measuring the cardiac output of a patient comprising steps of
positioning a first electrode within the trachea of the patient in the vicinity of the ascending aorta; -
positioning a second electrode on the exterior of the thorax of the patient in the vicinity of the suprasternal notch; applying a voltage between the first and second electrodes so that a current flows through the tissues of the patient between the first and second electrodes; and detecting a voltage developed across the first and second electrodes caused by the current flowing in the tissues of the patient, the voltage varying in accordance with changes in the electrical bioimpedance of the tissues. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
Specification