Central venous pressure (CVP) is the pressure of the blood returning to the heart through the vena cava into the right atrium of the heart. The measurement of CVP indicates the volume of blood returning to heart after ventricular contraction, defined as ventricular preload. The increase in ventricular preload causes an increase in work of the cardiac muscle leading to cardiac muscle stress. Prolonged cardiac stress eventually leads to damage of the cells and overall reduction in cardiac output, leading to heart failure. Presently there are small pressure sensors placed permanently in the vasculature to measure a different type of pressure in the heart – the pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). However, significant physical and functional modifications of existing PAP sensors will be required before they can be safely and effectively implanted in the Central Venous system. This is because current sensor anchoring methods, which are adequate for the pulmonary artery, would almost certainly fail to hold the sensor safely in place given the physically more challenging environment of the veins. The sensor’s location in the veins increases risk severity, as any fragmentation or emboli will be carried towards the heart rather than away from it. Hence, this research project aims to develop a new type of sensor that is capable of being implanted in the vena cava to measure CVP effectively.
