title: A pilot study of scanning acoustic microscopy as a tool for measuring arterial stiffness in aortic biopsies.
abstract: This study explores the use of scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) as a potential tool for characterisation of arterial stiffness using aortic biopsies. SAM data is presented for human tissue collected during aortic bypass graft surgery for multi-vessel coronary artery disease. Acoustic wave speed as determined by SAM was compared to clinical data for the patients namely, pulse wave velocity (PWV), blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. There was no obvious trend relating acoustic wave speed to PWV values, and an inverse relationship was found between systolic and diastolic blood pressure and acoustic wave speed. However, in patients with a higher cholesterol or glucose level, the acoustic wave speed increased. A more detailed investigation is needed to relate SAM data to clinical measurements.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Materials and Structures, School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, L69 3GH, UK.
authors.forename: Riaz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.affiliation: Diabetes & Cardiovascular Medicine, Nutritional Sciences Division, King's College London, Franklin Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH, UK.
authors.forename: J Kennedy
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Cruickshank
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: Xuegen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Derby
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen, Grieskirchnerstrasse 42, 4600 Wels, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weber
keywords: Acoustic wave speed; Arterial stiffening; Blood pressure; Cholesterol; Glucose; Pulse wave velocity; Scanning acoustic microscopy