title: Progressive attenuation of the longitudinal kinetics in the common carotid artery: preliminary in vivo assessment.
abstract: Longitudinal kinetics (LOKI) of the arterial wall consists of the shearing motion of the intima-media complex over the adventitia layer in the direction parallel to the blood flow during the cardiac cycle. The aim of this study was to investigate the local variability of LOKI amplitude along the length of the vessel. By use of a previously validated motion-estimation framework, 35 in vivo longitudinal B-mode ultrasound cine loops of healthy common carotid arteries were analyzed. Results indicated that LOKI amplitude is progressively attenuated along the length of the artery, as it is larger in regions located on the proximal side of the image (i.e., toward the heart) and smaller in regions located on the distal side of the image (i.e., toward the head), with an average attenuation coefficient of -2.5 ± 2.0%/mm. Reported for the first time in this study, this phenomenon is likely to be of great importance in improving understanding of atherosclerosis mechanisms, and has the potential to be a novel index of arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam, Departments of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: g.zahnd@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zahnd
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mathematics and Analysis, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Computer Vision Center, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balocco
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Louis Pradel Hospital, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sérusclat
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Louis Pradel Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France; INSERM UMR 1060, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moulin
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1044, INSA-Lyon, Université Lyon 1, France.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orkisz
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1044, INSA-Lyon, Université Lyon 1, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vray
mesh_terms: D065638:Absorption, Radiation; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology*; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004735:Energy Transfer; D005260:Female; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D033081:Shear Strength / Q000502:physiology; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Arterial stiffness; Atherosclerosis; Common carotid artery; Longitudinal kinetics; Motion tracking; Ultrasound imaging