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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Wireless Telemetry Device Implantation in a Fontan Ovine Model for Continuous and Long-Term Hemodynamic Monitoring
06:29

Wireless Telemetry Device Implantation in a Fontan Ovine Model for Continuous and Long-Term Hemodynamic Monitoring

Published on: May 2, 2025

Cardiac output measurement in Fontan circulation: Challenges and potential emerging solutions

Ashish H Shah1, Veena Bharathi Kota2, Sivasubramanian Ramakrishnan2

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Cardiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Annals of Pediatric Cardiology
|July 6, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Accurate cardiac output (CO) measurement is vital for Fontan patients. This review explores challenges with current methods and highlights the need to validate noninvasive impedance cardiography for this population.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Accurate cardiac output (CO) assessment is crucial for managing Fontan patients' hemodynamic status.
  • Established CO measurement techniques (Fick, thermodilution, echocardiography, MRI) have significant limitations in Fontan physiology.
  • Noninvasive impedance cardiography (ICG) presents a potential alternative but requires validation in Fontan patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the limitations of current CO assessment methods in Fontan patients.
  • To highlight the potential of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a noninvasive CO monitoring tool.
  • To emphasize the need for further research and validation of ICG in pediatric and adult Fontan populations.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing cardiac output assessment methodologies.
  • Analysis of Fontan-specific anatomical and physiological challenges impacting CO measurement.
  • Evaluation of the current evidence and limitations of impedance cardiography in Fontan patients.

Main Results:

  • Traditional CO methods face significant challenges due to Fontan's unique anatomy and physiology.
  • Impedance cardiography (ICG) offers a promising noninvasive approach but lacks extensive validation in this cohort.
  • There is a critical need for refining and validating ICG for reliable CO monitoring in Fontan patients.

Conclusions:

  • Existing CO measurement techniques are inadequate for Fontan patients.
  • Impedance cardiography (ICG) requires rigorous validation to become a reliable tool for Fontan CO assessment.
  • Further research is essential to improve hemodynamic management in Fontan patients through validated noninvasive monitoring.

Keywords:
Cardiac outputFontan circulationchallengesemerging technologiesmethods

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