The novel approach to the estimation of the blood volume in the POLVAD prosthesis

Abstract

The cardiovascular diseases are common among human population. The patients suffering from heart related disease can be divided into two main groups: pharmacologically cured and the group needing the surgical procedure. In some cases the special type of devices can be used for supporting the heart muscle by pumping the blood along with the heart. In Poland the solution Developed by the Foundation of Cardiac Surgery Development - Polish Heart Assist Device (POLVAD) is used. The prosthesis itself is a pneumatic pulsatile-type extracorporeal device. The temporary blood volume measurement is essential for the automation of the heart supporting process. The most important requirement is the noninvasiveness of the measurements. The new measurement method for the temporary blood volume estimation was suggested and developed by the Department of the Optoelectronics at the Silesian University of Technology and presented in the paper. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.