The paper, entitled: “Validation of a new Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor, The USCOM” was presented by Associate Professor Lester Critchley at the recent World Congress of Anesthesiology (WCA) in Paris . Professor Lester Critchley from the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong , is a world authority on methods of measuring cardiac output and has been conducting research into the USCOM method since early 2003.
The scientific paper published contains results from a study of anaesthetised dogs, comparing USCOM with precision flow probes inserted into the hearts of the animals. The study demonstrated extremely close correlation between the two methods. The study, conducted at Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, involved 335 paired measures of cardiac output ranging from 0.9 to 5.6 Litres Per Minute and with various pharmacologic interventions. Dr Critchley's conclusion states: "The USCOM tracked drug induced changes in cardiac output to a high degree of precision over a wide range of cardiac outputs in all dogs. Our data compared extremely favourably with that published using other measurement devices. The USCOM is a promising clinical tool."

The paper, entitled: “A Rapid Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor Method for Optimization of Atrioventricular Interval in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy” by Professor Chu-Pak Lau, Professor and Chief, Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, was published and accepted for presentation at the North American Heart Rhythm Society Meeting (NASPE), May 22 nd in San Francisco (CA) and the Cardiostim 2004 – 14 th World Congress in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Cardiac Techniques, in Nice, France. The objective of the study was to evaluate the clinical utility of USCOM, to guide Atrioventricular Optimization (AVO), critical in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT).

The study conclusion states “USCOM is highly correlated with echo Doppler measured CO (Cardiac Output), and allows rapid AVO (Atrioventricular Optimisation) without the need of specialised echo machine and personnel. USCOM may be a cost-effective device for AVO.”