A thermal method for the determination of tissue blood flow.

An isothermal flowmeter for the determination of local tissue blood flow is described. Flow is determined by the measurement of the thermal conductivity of the tissue in the vicinity of a heated thermistor maintained at a fixed temperature difference above a reference thermistor. Direct heating of the thermistor is utilized to eliminate the need for specially constructed indirectly heated thermistors. This design results in a device with a voltage output directly proportional to tissue thermal conductivity and to tissue blood flow. The device is shown to be adequate for the qualitative measurement of myocardial blood flow under various situations. Construction is simplified and the size of the circuit reduced by the use of readily available integrated circuits.