A Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer Cardiac Output Measurements.pdfVIP

Journal of Theoretical Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 3, September 2005, 161–172 A numerical investigation of heat transfer cardiac output measurements P. FOTHERINGHAM†, A. R. GOURLAY†, S. MCKEE*‡ and S. ANDREWS{ †Centre for Mathematical and Computational Science in Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK ‡Department of Mathematics, University of Strathclyde, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 1XH, UK {AorTech International plc., Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill, Lanarkshire ML4 3NJ, UK (Received 18 December 2002; revised 10 December 2003; in final form 31 March 2005) Measurement of cardiac output is often investigated using a technique based on hot-film anemometry. Here, we discuss a modification to hot-film anemometry, which involves a cylindrical heating element mounted flush on the surface of a typical Swan-Ganz catheter. In contrast to traditional thermodilution, the method discussed here has the potential to allow continuous monitoring of cardiac output. This paper demonstrates that there is a simple approximate relationship between the power input to the device to maintain a temperature of one degree above blood heat and cardiac output. Since, the heat transfer and the fluid flow decouple, a numerical model of the heat transfer of a cylindrical catheter (with heating element) sitting concentrically within a rigid cylindrical artery is developed. Numerical results were obtained for a wide selection of flow profiles, including experimental data. The results indicate that the cardiac output/power input relationship is extremely robust with respect to flow profile