Salvatore Saporito1, Ingeborg H.F. Herold 1,2, Silviu Dovancescu3, Jacques A. den Boer1, Ronald M. Aarts1,3, Arthur R. Bouwman2, Harrie C.M. van den Bosch4, Hendrikus H.M. Korsten 1,2, Hans C. van Assen1, and Massimo Mischi1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 2Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 3Philips Research, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 4Department of Radiology, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Netherlands
The assessment of thoracic fluid
status is crucial for diagnosis, management, stratification, and follow-up of heart
failure patients. Indicator dilution
theoretical framework allows absolute volume estimation; magnetic resonance contrast
agents have been proposed as indicators, with the advantage of a non-invasive
detection. In this pilot study, we investigated the changes in intra-thoracic
blood volume (ITBV) measured by cardiac magnetic resonance during fluid shifts induced
by a pneumatic leg compression device. Preliminary results on 8 healthy
volunteers suggest the sensitivity of the proposed measurement technique; a
significant increase in ITBV after the leg compression was observed.
