Patent ID: 6165132
Filing Date: 2000-12-26
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A device for insertion into the bloodstream of a living organism to obtain blood flow data comprising:a flexible catheter adapted to be inserted into the heart of a living organism;heating means carried by said catheter for location in the right atrium of the heart; anda pair of temperature sensing elements carried by said catheter on opposite sides of said heating means and positioned apart a distance functionally sufficient to allow measurement in the heart of the differential value of the temperature as exists between the two elements, the element upstream of said heating means when in use being positioned on said catheter to be effectively thermally isolated from said heating means and the element positioned downstream of said heating means when in use being positioned on said catheter to be responsive to the temperature rise of blood in the heart heated by said heating means;said temperature sensing elements and said heating means being adapted to be in communication with a data processing system to communicate blood flow data to the data processing system as a function of thermal data taken upstream of said heating means, thermal data taken downstream of said heating means and thermal energy produced by said heating means.