Recent Progress in Blood Flow Sensing

Blood plays a central role in the maintenance of the human body, and monitoring its flow rate, either invasively or non-invasively, in different parts of the circulatory is essential in the diagnosis and treatment of patients and for advancing biomedical research. This review examines the history and challenges of blood flow sensing and highlights the current state-of-the art blood flowmeters alongside the emerging tools poised to realize continuous and real-time monitoring. The clinical requirements for designing blood flow sensors are considered, including where the sensors are interfaced and their signal transduction mechanisms. Finally, the existing technological gaps are discussed and potential pathways to allow for further optimization are explored. Continued innovations in the several hundred years of evolution of blood flow sensing technology are poised to provide more timely interventions related to maintaining proper blood flow for improving patient care and outcomes.