An innovative approach for right ventricular volume calculation during right catheterization

Abstract

In this paper, an innovative approach is presented for the right ventricular volume calculation during right catheterization. The right catheterization is really important in critically ill patient management. However, there is a concern about the sufficiency of outcomes from pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) which is used for right catheterization. In order to improve the reliability of the particular catheterization, the additional parameter which should be used is the volume of right ventricle chamber and it is proposed to be measured with the aid of ultrasonic technology. In order to compute the volume, five circular groups of six ultrasonic sensors are mounted along the catheter surface. Each sensor measures the distance from the corresponding vertical point on the ventricular wall forming five hexagons in five different planes. Between any two of them a polyhedron of volume V is created. The sum of the polyhedra which are formed in the cavity is equivalent to the volume of the right ventricle chamber. As this method is dependent only on the distances measured by the ultrasonic sensors and the fixed separation distance between the groups of sensors, it is expected to be a reliable method in volume calculation during catheterization. © 2010 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.