flow rate sensor?

[utd]

Hello,

Does NI have any flow rate sensor to measure blood flow rate? Also, Do I need NI DAQ to receive data from sensor to display on Labview?

Thanks,

Vahid

[Haagen-Dazs]

Hi UTD,

I looked through our products page and as I expected we currently do not sell a flow sensor device. It is possible that a thrid party device could be created to work within LabVIEW but more than likely you will also need a DAQ device. The best device for you will depend on your application requirements and the flow sensor you end up buying.

[utd]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your reply. Can you lead me to any specific company to buy sensors? I need these sensors for biomedical projects. (clip on sensors). Also, do I need any thing other than a sensor, DAQ and LAbView to detemrine the flow rate?

Regards,

Vahid

[Haagen-Dazs]

Hey UTD,

Unfortunately, I do not have the ability to recommend third party sensors. The best sensor is going to depend on your application and that sensor will determine the best DAQ device to use. To answer your second question, yes having the sensor, a DAQ device, and LabVIEW you should be all set to acquire and process any data from that sensor.

[johnsold]

Vahid,

Exactly what are you trying to measure?  In your original post you mention blood flow rate and in a later post your refer to clip on sensors.  The only clip on sensors I have heard of related to blood are for pulse oximetry. That does not actually measure blood flow rate. It gives an indication that blood is flowing and the pulse or heart rate can be derived from it. It is also possible to get a reasonably good approximation to oxygen or coabon dioxide saturation in the capillary blood from the optical spectral content.

I suppose it is possible to get an estimate of blood flow by ultrasound measurements where both the cross-sectional area of an artery could be measured and doppler flow measurements could get velocity.  I am not sure a single transducer is capble of both types of measurements and I suspect that the calculations involved to get good estimates of blood flow are quite complicated.

A true flow measurement by turbine flowmeter or positive displacement type sensors requires invasive procedures to install the sensor and special materials engineering to avoid clots.

Lynn