Systolic time intervals (STI), known for a long time, were revived in the early 1960s by Arnold Weissler. The first important papers came from him; they eval- uated STI measurements in larger populations, established norms, and compared STI measurements with other invasive methods. Since then, several hundred ex- cellent papers have appeared using and evaluating STI measurements for myo- cardial function studies. These have appeared in prominent cardiologic journals throughout the world as well as in the anesthesiologic and pediatric medical literature. When consent of subjects to medical...

This volume on scientific advances in critical care testing com piles a number of clinical and laboratory studies related to criti cally ill patients that involve new technology, therapy options, application or interpretation of new tests, patient management and cost benefits. There were a total of 340 applicants for this first International Federation of Clinical Chemistry-AVL Award, and from these, National Winners were selected in 26 member countries of the IFCC. This publication presents the full papers of the ten finalists among the National Winners selected for the international final...