DUAL BODY PLETHYSMOGRAPHY APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR MEASURING BLOOD FLOW BETWEEN THE THORAX AND ABDOMEN (THE TRUNK) AND THE BODY PERIPHERY

摘要

An apparatus is described (1) for measuring the blood flow (Vb) between the trunk and the extremities. Such an apparatus (1) comprises a whole body plethysmograph (102; 4, 12, 15, 40) for measuring the variations of gas volume in the lungs (?VL), a thoraco-abdominal plethysmograph (101, 2, 3) for measuring the volume variations of the trunk (?VCW) and a system for processing (20) allowing measurement of the said variations of gas volume of the lungs (?VL) and the volume variations of the trunk (?VCW) so as to compute the volume of blood shifted between the trunk and the extremities (Vb). Further a process is described for measuring the volume of blood shifted between the trunk and the extremities (Vb). Such a process comprises: a measurement (121) of the volume variations of the trunk (?VCW) by means of thoraco-abdominal plethysmography, a measurement (104) (performed at the same time as the previous measurement) of the variations of gas volume of the lungs (?VL) by means of whole body plethysmography; a processing (120) of said volume variations of the trunk (?VCW) and of said volume variations of the lungs in order to measure the volume of blood shifted between the trunk and the extremities (Vb).