Patent ID: 7758511
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method for monitoring perfusion in living tissue comprising: determining baseline thermal conditions for a capillary bed and establishing baseline criteria for the thermal conditions in the capillary bed; raising the temperature in the capillary bed to a value above said thermal baseline by a heated probe immersed in the capillary bed; computing, using a computing unit, values associated with one or more selected thermal properties of the capillary bed; computing, using a computing unit, perfusion in the capillary bed using a value that is a function of the power required by said raising step and one or more of the selected thermal property values; evaluating, using a computing unit, one or more conditions that may significantly change one or more of the thermal baseline and the selected thermal property values; and determining, using a computing unit, the need for new baseline criteria using data from said evaluating step.