Validation of the use of foreign gas rebreathing method for non-invasive determination of cardiac output in heart disease patients

Objective: To compare a new device (Innocor) for non-invasive measurement of cardiac output (CO) by foreign gas rebreathing method with conventional techniques used in the measurements of cardiac function. Methods: Cardiac outputs measured by Innocor (CO(RB)) were compared with CO obtained by echocardiography (CO(EC)), Swan-Ganz thermodilution (CO(TD)), and left ventricle radiography (CO(LVR)) in 34 patients subjected to cardiac catheterization. Values obtained from the four methods were analyzed by linear regression and paired values were compared by the method of Bland and Altman in SPSS. Results: There was strong positive correlation (r=0.94) between Innocor cardiac output values and the corresponding values obtained by thermodilution and between CO(EC) and CO(LVR) values. Thermodilution appears to overestimate cardiac output when compared to the values obtained with Innocor by (0.66±0.22) L/min (P<0.0001). There was no correlation between data obtained by Innocor and the corresponding CO(EC) and CO(LVR) values. Conclusion: Innocor CO(RB) is an easy, safe and well established method for non-invasive measurement of cardiac output with good prospects for clinical application in heart disease patients

UAV SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR THE MONITORING AND STUDY VOLCANIC AND NATURAL HAZARD EVENTS.

During a natural hazard as volcano eruption the aircraft or helicopter reconnaissance flight require human operators. This implies a high risk level which depends on the environmental conditions. The Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) allows to operate a monitoring and surveillance in safety. An experiment of a radio controlled UAV has been carried out on Stromboli volcano on 2004. From this experience a UAV system, (automated controlled), devoted to volcanoes monitoring is under development at the DIEM Department of the University of Bologna. The projected UAV will be furnished of Visible camera will also lodge an IR camera and will experiment a new micro-interferometer based on MOEMS technology, (developed by IMM Institute of CNR), suitable to perform DOAS Fourier spectroscopy, to detect atmospheric trace gases. The uses of the IR camera are relevant in monitoring, during pre-crisis, for thermal anomalies detection and, during crisis, for lava temperatures measurements. These parameters, jointly to the spectral measurements performed by MOEMS interferometer, are useful for the theoretical model improvement. We report the state of art of the system that, thanks to its modularity and restricted dimensions, may be disassembled, sent where the emergency occur, and reassembled in a very short time