Measurement of Blood Volume with a New Apparatus

Abstract

THE prevailing methods for measuring blood volume have failed to find widespread clinical application. This is because the technics are cumbersome, and because accurate, repeated measurements cannot be made with sufficient frequency to be of value in the management of persisting derangements of blood volume. The need for an accurate, freely repetitive and, if possible, semiautomatic method is obvious. Appraisals of blood volume during major surgical procedures, after extensive burns and during therapy for cardiac decompensation, acute renal failure and other major disorders as a rule are based upon data that at best allow only rough approximations. These are often . . .