Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kohji Tsuchida

Shigekazu Sekii

Yoshio Ishitsu

An apparatus for measuring cardiac output designed to prevent measurement errors by eliminating the need for a manufacture step of examining a temperature sensing element during manufacture of the same and, hence, the need for a probe circuit or the like which is a means for effecting correction according to the characteristics of the temperature sensing element. For measurement of temperatures relating to an organism using a probe having at least two temperature sensing elements, the apparatus includes a reference temperature sensing element; a temperature measurement circuit for obtaining a reference temperature signal from a temperature detected by the reference temperature sensing element; a first temporary storage memory for storing the detected reference temperature; a thermometry temperature sensing element; a second memory for obtaining a thermometry temperature signal with the temperature measurement circuit from a thermometry temperature detected by the thermometry temperature sensing element and for storing the obtained thermometry temperature signal; a correction value calculation circuit for maintaining a correction value obtained on the basis of the reference temperature signal stored in the first memory and the thermometry temperature signal stored in the second memory; and a temperature calculation circuit for calculating a corrected temperature value based on a thermometry temperature signal newly produced during measurement and the maintained correction value.

Apparatus for measuring cardiac output

Disclosed are a cardiac output measurement method and a system for the application of the same, which perform the calibration of cardiac output by employing a blood flow velocity measurement method and perform continuous measurement of cardiac output. The system includes a blood temperature sensing element for sensing blood temperature, a blood temperature measurement circuit for generating a blood temperature signal indicative of the sensed blood temperature, an equilibrium temperature obtaining element capable of sensing cooling temperature of blood flow being heated, and an equilibrium temperature measurement circuit for generating an equilibrium temperature signal indicative of the sensed cooling temperature of blood flow heated. A corrected equilibrium temperature calculating circuit receives the signals generated by the blood temperature sensing element and the equilibrium temperature obtaining element, performs calculation for correction, and generates a corrected equilibrium temperature signal indicative of the result of the calculation. Cardiac output is calculated on the basis of the corrected equilibrium temperature signal.

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Fuji, Japan

Kohji Tsuchida