Measurement of Intracompartmental Pressure with Use of a New Electronic Transducer-Tipped Catheter System*

ABSTRACT: Laboratory and clinical tests were car-ried out to determine the clinical usefulness, validity, and safety of a new self-calibrating, battery-powered monitoring system for the measurement of intramus-cular pressure with use of an electronic transducer-tipped catheter. The eight probes accurately recorded applied pressures ranging from zero to 160 millimeters of mercury (zero to 21.33 kilopascals). The system reg-istered little temperature-induced drift (maximum, 1.25 millimeters of mercury [0.17 kilopascal]) between dry room temperature and 40 degrees Celsius. There were also minimum variations (range, –0.14 to 0.81 millime-ter of mercury [0.02 to 0.11 kilopascal]) in the pressures recorded during a twenty-four-hour period. The resting pressure in the tibialis anterior muscl