Abstract 109: Venous Flow Monitoring Using an Entirely Implanted, Wireless Doppler Sensor
PurPose: Successful salvage of the threatened free flap is dependent upon prompt diagnosis of vascular occlusion and timely restoration of blood flow. Many monitoring systems can be used to augment clinical exam, but all suffer from drawbacks. The implantable venous Doppler offers rapid diagnosis of vascular compromise, but has a cumbersome transcutaneous wire and is reported to have high false positive rates largely due to inadvertent internal probe dislodgement. A wireless device would avoid these problems. This study describes the implementation of an entirely implanted Doppler sensor with wireless transmission of flow data in a pig femoral vein model.