BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Maximum oxygen uptake (VO(2) max) is internationally accepted parameter to evaluate the cardiorespiratory fitness. But determination of VO(2)max is restricted within well equipped laboratory because of its exhausting, hazardous and complicated experimental protocol. Various attempts have been made to enumerate indirect and easy protocols for prediction of VO(2)max but ...

The range of data-gathering equipment for patient monitoring is rapidly increasing. Unfortunately there is little uniformity in the display of information. The array of monitors selected at the author's hospital includes a carbon dioxide (C02) analyser, non-invasive arterial pressure monitor and pulse oximeter. To find the five values for the end tidal CO2• systolic and diastolic blood pressure...

The management of carbon monoxide poisoning requires an accurate assessment of the extent of blood oxygenation. Measuring the fractional oxyhaemoglobin content by using co-oximetry gives a true picture of the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood in the presence of carboxyhaemoglobin. The use of readings from pulse oximetry or a standard blood gas analyser is insufficient and can be misleading. We ...

A 9 month-old girl was given subcutaneous isosulfan blue to outline lymphatic channels during surgery for thoracic duct ligation. Her pulse oximetry values rapidly declined to a nadir of 85%, 35 min after dye injection. Arterial blood gases revealed methemoglobinemia ([MetHb] = 6.5%). Although abnormal pulse oximetry has already been reported in association with isosulfan blue, methemoglobinemi...

The spherical mirror analyser (SMA) is used to acquire fast XPS images from specimen surfaces with high lateral and energy resolution. Here we review the properties of the SMA including spatial and energy resolution and provide examples of the capabilities of such an imaging analyser. In the last few years the combination of the SMA with a two-dimensional, pulse counting electron detector has a...

Pulse oximetry probes placed peripherally may fail to give accurate values of blood oxygen saturation when the peripheral circulation is poor. Because central blood flow may be preferentially preserved, we investigated the oesophagus as an alternative monitoring site. A reflectance blood oxygen saturation probe was developed and evaluated in 49 patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. The oe...

A non-linear network is proposed for simulating the response of electrochemical cells in differential-pulse polarographic (DPP) analysis. The response of a DPP analyser connected to the dummy cell is a bell-shaped current peak (I(p)) located at any desired point along the potential-scan range. Approximate model calculations of the expected I(p), as a function of the dummy-cell parameters are in...