Determination of stenosis and occlusion in arteries with the application of FFT, AR, and ARMA methods

Doppler ultrasound is a noninvasive technique that allows the examination of the direction, velocity, and volume of blood flow. Therefore, Doppler ultrasonography is known as reliable technique, which demonstrates the flow characteristics and resistance of arteries in various vascular disease. In this study, arterial Doppler signals recorded from 105 subjects were processed by PC-computer using fast Fourier transform, Burg autoregressive, and least squares modified Yule-Walker autoregressive moving average methods. Doppler power spectrums of arterial Doppler signals were obtained by using these spectrum analysis techniques. The variations in the shape of the Doppler power spectrums as a function of time were presented in the form of sonograms in order to obtain medical information. These sonograms were then used to compare the applied methods in terms of their frequency resolution and the effects in determination of stenosis and occlusion in arteries. Reliable information on hemodynamic alterations in arteries can be obtained by evaluation of these sonograms.