Noninvasive method for estimation of complex elastic modulus of arterial vessels

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is widely used for estimating the stiffness of an artery. It is well-known that a stiffened artery can be associated with various diseases and with aging. Usually, PWV is measured using the "foot-to-foot" method in which the travel time of the wave is measured over a distance. The "foot" of the pressure wave is not clear due to reflected waves and blood noise. Also, PWV is an average indicator of artery stiffness between the two measuring points and, therefore, does not identify local stiffness variations. We propose producing a bending wave in the arterial wall using low-frequency, localized ultrasound radiation force and measuring the wave velocity along the arterial wall. The wave velocity can be measured accurately over a few millimeters. A mathematical model for wave propagation along the artery is developed with which the Young's modulus of the artery can be determined from measured wave velocities. Experiments were conducted on a pig carotid artery cast in a tissue-mimicking gelatin. The wave velocity was measured by the phase change at a known distance for a given frequency. The measured wave velocity is about 3 m/s at 100 Hz and 6.5 m/s at 500 Hz. The real part of complex elastic modulus of the artery is estimated to be 300 kPa.

[1]  J F Greenleaf,et al.  Noncontact ultrasound stimulated optical vibrometry study of coupled vibration of arterial tubes in fluids. , 2003, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[2]  Excitation and measurement of flexural waves in arterial vessels , 2003, IEEE Symposium on Ultrasonics, 2003.

[3]  A. Hoeks,et al.  Assessment of Local Pulse Wave Velocity in Arteries Using 2D Distension Waveforms , 2001 .

[4]  A. Hill,et al.  The Velocity of the Pulse Wave in Man , 1922 .

[5]  P. Dobrin,et al.  Mechanical properties of arteries , 1978, Physiological reviews.

[6]  N Westerhof,et al.  Measurement of pulse wave velocity using a beat-sampling technique. , 1989, Annals of biomedical engineering.

[7]  M. Silver,et al.  Diagnostic criteria for cardiovascular pathology : acquired diseases , 1997 .

[8]  P B Dobrin.  Mechanical properties of arterises. , 1978 .

[9]  J. Cohn,et al.  Prognostic application of arterial stiffness: task forces. , 2002, American journal of hypertension.

[10]  Xiaoming Zhang.  Parametric studies of coupled vibration of cylindrical pipes conveying fluid with the wave propagation approach , 2002 .

[11]  Noriyoshi Chubachi,et al.  Measurement of local pulse wave velocity in arteriosclerosis by ultrasonic Doppler method , 1994, 1994 Proceedings of IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium.

[12]  K. D. Hopkins,et al.  Aortic compliance measured by non-invasive Doppler ultrasound: application of a personal computer based MkII system and its repeatability. , 1994, Medical engineering & physics.

[13]  P. Hallock,et al.  ARTERIAL ELASTICITY IN MAN IN RELATION TO AGE AS EVALUATED BY THE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY METHOD , 1934 .

[14]  J. Staessen,et al.  Clinical applications of arterial stiffness; definitions and reference values. , 2002, American journal of hypertension.

[15]  A Steptoe,et al.  Pulse wave velocity and blood pressure change: calibration and applications. , 1976, Psychophysiology.

[16]  J. Li.  The Arterial Circulation: Physical Principles and Clinical Applications , 2000 .

[17]  Daniel Duprez,et al.  Clinical applications of arterial stiffness, Task Force III: recommendations for user procedures. , 2002, American journal of hypertension.

[18]  Magnus Persson.  Do we need a better approach for measuring pulse-wave velocity? , 2003, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[19]  R S Reneman,et al.  A noninvasive method to estimate pulse wave velocity in arteries locally by means of ultrasound. , 1998, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[20]  Yi Zheng,et al.  Detection of shear wave propagation in an artery using pulse echo ultrasound and Kalman filtering , 2004, IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium, 2004.

[21]  E. Lakatta,et al.  Measurement variation of aortic pulse wave velocity in the elderly. , 2001, American journal of hypertension.

[22]  Alan Chadburn Burton,et al.  Physiology and biophysics of the circulation : an introductory text , 1965 .

[23]  E. Metter,et al.  Carotid arterial stiffness as a surrogate for aortic stiffness: relationship between carotid artery pressure-strain elastic modulus and aortic pulse wave velocity. , 1999, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[24]  M. Karamanoglu,et al.  Errors in estimating propagation distances in pulse wave velocity. , 2003, Hypertension.

[25]  K. D. Hopkins,et al.  Assessment of arterial distensibility by automatic pulse wave velocity measurement. , 1996, Hypertension.

[26]  Dr. John K.-J. Li.  The Arterial Circulation , 2000, Humana Press.

[27]  James F. Greenleaf,et al.  Inverse method for estimating elastic modulus of arterial walls , 2004, SPIE Medical Imaging.

[28]  L. A. Geddes,et al.  Handbook of Blood Pressure Measurement , 1991 .

[29]  J. Greenleaf,et al.  Ultrasound-stimulated vibro-acoustic spectrography. , 1998, Science.

[30]  Xiaoming Zhang,et al.  Vibro-acoustography for modal analysis of arterial vessels , 2002, Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging.

[31]  T. Loupas,et al.  Arterial pulse wave velocity with tissue Doppler imaging. , 2002, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[32]  Xiaoming Zhang,et al.  Frequency dispersion of wave velocity in arterial vessels , 2004, 2004 2nd IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging: Nano to Macro (IEEE Cat No. 04EX821).

[33]  S. Laurent,et al.  Aortic Stiffness Is an Independent Predictor of Fatal Stroke in Essential Hypertension , 2003, Stroke.