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Why Is Competitive Flow Important?
Flow-based intraoperative bypass graft patency assessment during CABG confirms a graft’s flowcarrying capability to prevent early graft failure. However, when the native
coronary artery is not fully stenosed and a bypass graft is placed, blood flow from the native coronary artery “competes” with and lowers bypass flow. Assessing
competitive flow during CABG informs surgeons and facilitates their subsequent graft patency decision-making. View Full Medical Note >
Do you need to apply the probe so that flow is going in the same direction as the arrow?
No, the arrow on the side of the probe is there to confirm the direction of flow. The surgeon can
place the probe from whichever side of the vessel is most convenient.
How do you use the flowprobe to confirm the direction of flow?
Make sure the flowmeter is not in Invert mode (the green indicator light will be off
). If the flow reading on the meter's digital display is positive, the direction of flow is the same as the arrow.
Remember that transit time flowprobes also measure instantaneous bidirectional
flow. For example, if there is a reversal of flow in the IMA during systole due to native competitive flow, this will appear on the flowmeter's printout as negative
flow below the zero baseline. The net forward flow, though, is still positive.
How hard is it to set the time and date on the flowmeter?
It's easy to reset the time and date on the flowmeter. You just need a 9 pin – 9
pin cable to connect the flowmeter to the serial port on a PC. There is a program called Hyperterminal in Window 95/98 that allows the user to program an external
device such as the flowmeter. Follow the instructions on the CTS reference card or call Transonic Systems Customer Service for assistance.
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