Non-Invasive Cardiac Output Monitoring Tested
In a study to be published in the journal Intensive Care Medicine, the NICOM system manufactured by Cheetah Medical, Inc. for cardiac output monitoring was compared to thermodilution with a pulmonary artery catheter in patients who had undergone cardiac surgery.
Findings indicate that NICOM was effectively able to measure cardiac output during varied circulatory events. The device had acceptable levels of responsiveness and accuracy; precision was superior with NICOM.
An advantage of the system over thermodilution is that it is noninvasive, minimizing potential complications and the time required to set up for monitoring. An additional benefit is a completely portable system, allowing monitoring in a variety of clinical settings.
The noninvasive system uses technology developed by Cheetah, BIOREACTANCE, for continuous monitoring. Other systems instead use thoracic bioimpedance, which may not be as amenable to use in a wide variety of settings.
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May 24, 2007 Related topics: Cardiology