Physical Model of the Pulmonary Circulation Designed for Investigation on Cardiac Output Measurement by Means of the Thermodilution Method

The "gold clinical standard" of cardiac output measurements is the thermodilution method, implemented by the Swan-Ganz catheter. The unreliability of obtained results is difficult to estimate experimentally, due to the lack of reference methods or the risk of serious interferences in the measured object. Moreover, the pulsating blood flow produced by the heart is difficult to measure. Therefore it is advisable to develop the physical model of the pulmonary circulation, designed to investigate the accuracy of cardiac output measurements by means of the thermodilution method.