An Electrical Method to Determine Hematocrits

It has been determined that the electrical conductance of whole blood is a very accurate index of its hematocrit. The new instrument described here fills a need for a quick, accurate portable hematocrit meter. This meter can be used at the patient's side for an instantaneous determination, and wherever a portable instrument is required. The advantages of this new instrument are its speed of operation, direct reading, small sample of blood required, and the inherent accuracy of the electrical determination. The last fact could well result in greater clinical significance of the hematocrit measurement.