Hydraulic occluder for chronic electromagnetic blood flow determinations.

Abstract

A simple device to occlude blood flow in the vessels of conscious animals has been described. It consists of a fluid-filled narrow-gauge inelastic tube connected to a wider gauge elastic segment. The latter tube is wrapped around a hard plastic ring (polypropylene) and the distal end of the tube is closed. The ring encompasses the blood vessel. Injecting fluid into the inelastic tube expands the elastic tube which compresses the vessel against the ring. This device was tested in acute and chronic situations where it proved applicable. In conscious animals this hydraulic occluder has advantages over snares, and results obtained with the device cannot presently be duplicated with so-called electronic 0 of the gated sine-wave meter.