Clinical comparison of two devices for detection of microemboli during cardiopulmonary bypass.

Detection of gaseous microemboli during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures is important for the clinical evaluation of equipment such as oxygenators and cardiotomy reservoirs. Comparison of published data can be difficult if different detectors are used. Two devices reported in the literature, the Technique Laboratories TM-8 and the Hatteland BD-100, are compared during clinical procedures. The relationship between the outputs of these devices was linear over two ranges, the difference in output amounted to a standard deviation of 11% in the lower range and 38% in the upper range.