Non-polarographic blood gas analysis I. In virtro evaluation of gas chromatograph system.

A new system providing near continuous arterial p02 and pCO2 measurements without requiring blood samples is described. Based on intra-arterial placement of a closed-tipped 2F catheter with gas chromatographic separation and analysis this system appears capable of providing rapid sensitive data with accuracy and precision equivalent to conventional bench analyzers. The initial in vitro experiments are discussed including flow and temperature dependency studies.