AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 6 1111-H1114, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Measurement of coronary sinus blood flow by fiber-optic laser Doppler anemometry
D. Kilpatrick, T. Linderer, R. E. Sievers and J. V. Tyberg
The Doppler shift of a laser has been used to measure the velocity of blood
in the coronary sinus of the dog. The laser was delivered along a fine
fiber-optic probe, which was also used to receive the reflected light. The
Doppler shift was measured from the output of a digital spectrum analyzer.
This measurement, proportional to the velocity of blood, was correlated
with the blood flow measured by an electromagnetic flowmeter. Studies were
performed on 112 successful maneuvers in eight consecutive anesthetized
dogs. In the minimally damped electromagnetic flow traces, the correlation
between coronary sinus blood flow velocity and coronary sinus blood flow
was high (r greater than 0.95). This measurement will give absolute flow
values only if the exact dimensions of the coronary sinus are known. The
linear relationship of coronary sinus velocity and flow supports the
postulate that coronary sinus dimension remains similar during normal and
high flows. This technique, fiber-optic laser Doppler anemometry, is an
accurate measure of relative coronary sinus blood flow. It is suitable for
use in human coronary sinuses, especially to monitor the effect of
interventions.
