Integrator for aortic and pulmonary artery flow signals, with automatic zero adjustment and beat-to-beat mean flow computation

Abstract

An analogue device is described which offers the opportunity to obtain from aortic and pulmonary artery flow signals, on-line, the following quantities: the heart period, stroke volume, and mean flow, all on a beat-to-beat basis. The apparatus corrects for flowmeter drift and prevents accumulation of errors during systole. Extensive tests on reliability are performed.