Miniature Ultrasonic Transducers - Continuous monitoring of myocardial function during cardiac surgery

Miniaturized ultrasonic transducers for continuous monitoring of regional myocardial function have been developed and tested at The Interventional Centre. The transducers are fixed on the surface of the heart and give a continuous real-time signal of the heart wall thickening pattern presented on a bedside screen. The aim is to provide a sensitive tool for postoperative monitoring with automated signal analysis and interpretation.
Animal studies have given very good results. The transducers can detect ischemia with high sensitivity,and can discriminate changes during ischemia from other situations with altered hemodynamic variables.
A patient study is currently ongoing to test the ability of the sensors to detect hemodynamic and ischemic myocardial changes in patients during coronary bypass surgery. The study is done in cooperation with Dept. of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Dept. of Cardiology, Div. of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and Vestfold University College.