Monitoring lung fluid content in CHF patients under intravenous diuretics treatment using bio-impedance measurements

A pulmonary edema monitoring system (PulmoTrace™, CardioInspect, Tel-Aviv University, Israel) was evaluated for tracking lung resistivity during diuretics treatment in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. The system incorporates a bio-impedance measurement algorithm and enables, by employing an eight-electrode thoracic belt, the assessment of both the left- and right-lung resistivity values. A clinical study was conducted on a group of 13 CHF patients under intravenous diuretics treatment. The group was measured twice - before the beginning of treatment and following a period of a couple of hours. An increase of 8% of the mean lung resistivity (median value) was found between the two measuring sessions, which indicates a dehydration of the lungs, and a significant correlation (R = 0.73, p = 0.004) was found between the lung resistivity change and the urine output. In conjunction with previously reported results, which demonstrated the system's reproducibility and long-term monitoring capabilities, this study further supports the diagnostics value of the system.