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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Author Spotlight: Assessment of Cardiac Output Calculation by Thermodilution in Pigs for Effective Perfusion Flow During EVLP
Published on: June 28, 2024
Measurement of porcine heart temperatures
Primož Trunk1, Roman Trobec2, Borut Geršak
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Medical Center, Zaloška 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Slovenia.
Abstract:
During cardiac surgery local hypothermia of the heart is used to slow down cellular metabolism. It has been shown by computer simulation that heart muscle is not uniformly cooled to the desired temperatures. The aim of our work was to find out a way for measuring the temperatures of the ventricular wall and the septum with ± 0.1^C accuracy. The measurement protocol should be applicable during operations on the human heart, during which disturbing factors should be minimized. We have tested the protocol and the equipment on porcine hearts. Two types of probes were tested, the contact-probe, which can be attached to the heart-wall surface, and the needle-probe, which can be inserted into the heart tissue. Before experiments the probes were calibrated and their heat transfer characteristics determined. We conclude that the probes and the protocol are suitable for studying the effects of cardioplegia, and for checking the results previously obtained by computer simulation.
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