A transcutaneous PO2 electrode incorporating a thermal clearance local blood flow sensor.

Several possible methods for estimating and recording skin blood flow by thermal clearance are presented. The method chosen for trial with an O2 electrode was to thermoregulate an annular anode which covered the cathode, surrounding it like a heat shell, and to measure the cooling of the cathode by blood flow, by implanting a thermistor near the surface of the cathode. This device is far less affected by ambient temperature than is simple measurement of heating power in an uninsulated tcPO2 electrode.