Affiliations: [a] Neufeld Cardiac Research Institute, Tel-Aviv University, Sheba Medical Center, Israel | [b] Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Israel | [c] The Abramson Center for Medical Physics, Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Prof. Shmuel Einav, PhD. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel. Tel.: +972 3 640 9418; Fax: +972 3 640 9448; E-mail: einav@eng.tau.ac.il.
Abstract: This study describes a novel method for assessing stenotic severity, based on simultaneous pressure and flow wave measurements. Pressure and flow measurements were performed in latex and rubber tubes, and in a clinically-used vascular graft. Pressure waves were recorded at several degrees of stenosis and at different distances proximal to the stenosis. Pressure wave versus flow wave was plotted. Internal pressure-flow loop area (PFLA), loop slope and pressure-axis intercept were calculated. Values of these three indices significantly increased with increasing degrees of stenosis P<0.001). Similar phenomenon was observed during in-vivo experiments. Polynomial functions were fitted, resulting in an excellent PFLA variable/percent stenosis correlation, independent of distance between sensor and stenosis (R2>0.96). In addition, tube compliance was measured and found to correlate with the polynomial coefficients (|R|>0.9). This innovative approach could significantly contribute to detecting and evaluating arterial stenoses, and to characterize the elasticity of the artery.
