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Two types of crossed-coil nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) blood flowmeter detectors have been developed for the noninvasive measurement of blood flow. The first is a cylindrical coil configuration suitable for limb blood measurement. A cylindrical flowmeter (12.5 cm internal diam) operating at a nuclear resonance frequency of 3.2 MHz has been applied to measurement of flow in the forearm. The second type is the flat crossed-coil detector, which retains many of the operational advantages of the cylindrical detector, but is suitable for blood flow measurement of almost any surface of the body. Three flat crossed-coil detectors are described, operating at NMR frequencies of 9, 21.4, and 75 MHz. Two types of intermediate frequency signal processors have been used in the NMR receivers, a simple diode type, and a synchronous detector. The synchronous detector is preferred for its ease of operation and superior stability. Modular detection systems containing transmitter, receiver, post-detector signal conditioning, and power supply have been designed for all of the flat crossed-coil detectors. A self-contained synchronous detector module is included in the 21.4 and 75 MHz systems.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) permits the noninvasive measurement of blood flow signals unimpaired by clothes, bandages, casts, etc. The cylindrical crossed-coil NMR blood flowmeter was used to measure blood flow through a cross-section of the human forearm. Two calibration procedures are described: one for pulsatile flows and the other for flows with a high non-pulsatile component. Flow measurements from normal arms, from limbs with arterial obstruction, arteriovenous hemodialysis fistulas or other conditions are reported. An application of the flow scanning technique for separation of flow signals from individual arteries (e.g., ulnar and radial) is described. The flat crossed-coil NMR flowmeter was applied to detect blood flow from individual arteries (e.g., brachial, popliteal, etc.). Applications of a ranging technique developed to detect signals at predetermined depths are described.

Research for the application of NMR principles to the noninvasive measurement of blood flow in humans began at the National Heart,Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 1956, and has continued to the present at a number of institutions. In addition to NHLBI, contributions for the development of blood flowmeters by the University of California, Berkeley and by the Medical College of Wisconsin are described in this peper. The NMR theory applicable to blood flowmeters is also presented, as well as design criteria of NMR blood flowmeters.