Portable real time analysis system for regional cerebral blood flow

A portable, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) analysis instrument system suitable for use in the operating theater during surgery is under development. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) solid-state radiation detectors, an 8086-based data acquisition and communication module, and a DEC Microvax computer are used, so that the instrument is very compact yet has the computational power to provide real-time data analysis in the clinical environment. The instrument is currently being used to study rCBF during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Preliminary studies indicate that monitoring rCBF during this surgical procedure can provide insights into the mechanism that causes a significant fraction of these patients to suffer postoperative neuropsychological deficit.<
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