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Abstract

A cuvette having a pedestal for transmitting light through a relatively thin layer of blood. While the pedestal enables the use of a small path length it also permits the use of a high volume and/or high flow rate conduit. The pedestal further enables methods of determining various blood parameters in which the path length, d, is fixed; i.e., there are little or no pulsatile variations. Hence, the flow-through cuvette accommodates a large range of blood flow rates without any reduction in accuracy of the hematocrit measurement. The pedestal, because of its elliptical shape, does not damage or hemolyze the individual red blood cells as they pass through. A quantitative method for determining changes in blood volume in view of the path length is provided along with a method for measuring a patient's cardiac output and oxygen consumption rate. Cardiac output is obtained by injecting a saline arterial bolus and a saline venous bolus into a patient and measuring the change in hematocrit caused by each bolus. The oxygen consumption rate is then determined using the cardiac output and measuring the degree of oxygen saturation. Finally, an improved cuvette and corresponding method of measuring microemboli is provided. The cuvette contains multiple mini-lenses that focus narrow beams of light through the blood. These narrow beams of light are individually monitored by detectors.

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