2008 Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 105-110
Abstract: We designed a measuring method for a venous reservoir level using hydrostatic pressure. This method measures hydrostatic pressure of a direct port of a venous reservoir in a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit. The data of hydrostatic pressure in the port was converted to the level of venous reservoir and displayed using a laser emitted diode(LED). The LED level monitor alarms when the hydrostatic pressure in the port is lower than a certain limit point, or when the significantly decreasing tendency of the hydrostatic pressure is significantly noticeable. An experiment using a mock circuit demonstrated significantly high correlation(R2=0.998)of the venous reservoir level and the pressure in the direct port. This designed method resulted in lower costs and is beneficial for safe management in cardiopulmonary bypass.