Intraoperative Cardiothermography

An experimentally produced, permanentor temporary occlusion of a coronary artery branch in open chests in dogs reduces temparature and infra-red (IR) radiation in the ischemic area (IA) resulting in localized cooling. This gives black areas which are in sharp contrast to the well perfused white-colored myocardium. After release of the occlusion, a reactive hyperemic response (RHR) is observed in most of the experiments. The increased temperature in the previously IA returns after 8–10 min to the temperature of the surrounding healthy myocardium. The IR thermocamera can be used as a heart temperature-measuring device, and the intraoperative registration of IR radiation from the beating heart gives information about the qualitative changes in coronary perfusion in the myocardium.