Clinical applications of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) limb blood flowmeter

The principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have been employed in the design of noninvasive blood flowmeters. This paper describes an NMR limb blood flowmeter which has been used in statistical studies of normal volunteers, and diagnostically on patients with a variety of circulatory problems. Quantitative blood flow measurements are comparable to those obtained by other methods such as indicitor dilution, radioactvive clearance, and water, strain gauge, capacitance, and air plethysmography.