[In-house radio-assisted emergency call system in continuous monitoring of microcirculation using laser doppler...

Instrumental monitoring is being increasingly employed in the postoperative phase after microsurgery. For this purpose, laser Doppler flowmetry has proven to be very useful. Monitoring of the perfusion of tissue with blood is mainly by clinical examination, which, however, requires the physical presence of the observer, and this is generally not possible on a continuous basis. By connecting up a laser Doppler unit with a computer and telephone modem and making use of the in-house radio system, it proved possible to produce an automatic emergency call system that responds to a worsening of perfusion and alerts the responsible doctor. For this purpose, the software program "call-doc" was developed, which provides the necessary monitoring and control functions. A general perfusion-independent emergency call can also be triggered at the touch of a button.