title: Performance assessment of Pulse Wave Imaging using conventional ultrasound in canine aortasex vivoand normal human arteriesin vivo.
abstract: The propagation behavior of the arterial pulse wave may provide valuable diagnostic information for cardiovascular pathology. Pulse Wave Imaging (PWI) is a noninvasive, ultrasound imaging-based technique capable of mapping multiple wall motion waveforms along a short arterial segment over a single cardiac cycle, allowing for the regional pulse wave velocity (PWV) and propagation uniformity to be evaluated. The purpose of this study was to improve the clinical utility of PWI using a conventional ultrasound system. The tradeoff between PWI spatial and temporal resolution was evaluated using anex vivocanine aorta (n = 2) setup to assess the effects of varying image acquisition and signal processing parameters on the measurement of the PWV and the pulse wave propagation uniformity r2. PWI was also performed on the carotid arteries and abdominal aortas of 10 healthy volunteers (24.8 ± 3.3 y.o.) to determine the waveform tracking feature that would yield the most precise PWV measurements and highest r2valuesin vivo. Theex vivoresults indicated that the highest precision for measuring PWVs ~ 2.5 - 3.5 m/s was achieved using 24-48 scan lines within a 38 mm image plane width (i.e. 0.63 - 1.26 lines/mm). Thein vivoresults indicated that tracking the 50% upstroke of the waveform would consistently yield the most precise PWV measurements and minimize the error in the propagation uniformity measurement. Such findings may help establish the optimal image acquisition and signal processing parameters that may improve the reliability of PWI as a clinical measurement tool.
authors.affiliation: Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ronny X
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qaqish
authors.affiliation: Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA ; Department of Radiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Elisa E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Konofagou
keywords: Abdominal aorta; arterial stiffness; carotid artery; pulse wave; pulse wave imaging (PWI); pulse wave velocity (PWV); speckle tracking; ultrasound