Patent ID: 8133177

Claim:
A device for assessing capillary vitality comprising: an inflatable cuff; a blood flow sensor in communication with the cuff for measuring blood flow in a patient; a pressure sensor in communication with the cuff for reading pressure levels in the cuff; a pressure instrument in fluid communication with the cuff for inflation and deflation thereof, the pressure instrument comprising: a source of pressurized air; and a conduit connected to the source of pressurized air and the cuff, thereby placing the source of pressurized air in fluid communication with the cuff; at least one metabolic sensor for measuring at least one metabolic condition of the patient; a microprocessor operably coupled to said pressure instrument and capable of controlling pressurized airflow to and from the cuff, wherein said microprocessor is arranged to receive inputs from the blood flow, pressure and metabolic sensors; a computer program executable by the microprocessor such that when executed, the computer program causes the microprocessor to: initiate an automatic inflation sequence resulting in a no flow condition; initiate an automatic deflation sequence; automatically qualify a perfusion measurement as skin perfusion pressure value upon all conditions of a set of predetermined conditions being met during the deflation sequence; initiate the measurement of at least one metabolic condition through said at least one metabolic sensor, wherein a relationship among the measurements of blood flow, pressure and said at least one metabolic condition are displayed.