Abstract

Objective—To develop a complete system for the measurement, recording, and analysis of ambulatory pulmonary artery pressure.

Design—The new system consists of a pulmonary artery catheter, an ambulatory recorder, and a desktop computer. Pulmonary artery pressure is measured by a micromanometer tipped catheter with an in vivo calibration system to allow correction for zero drift. This catheter is plugged into a small battery powered recorder. The recorder has two input channels, one for pressure and one for an event marker. The pressure wave is sampled 32 times/s, processed by an in built computer, compressed, and stored in semiconductor memory. On completion of a recording, data is transferred from the ambulatory recorder through a serial data link to an Acorn Archimedes desktop computer on which further data processing, statistical analysis, graphics, and printouts can be obtained.

Results—The system has been used in 18 patients, with technically successful recording in 14, less than 15 minutes of data loss in three, and 12 hours of data loss in one.

Conclusions—A new system for ambulatory pulmonary artery monitoring has been developed and used clinically with success. It may provide new perspectives on the pathophysiology of disease as it applies to everyday life.