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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Mechanical Testing of Mouse Carotid Arteries: from Newborn to Adult
Published on: February 23, 2012
Functional analysis of the common carotid artery: relative distension differences over the vessel wall measured in
Patrick Segers1, Stein Inge Rabben, Julie De Backer
1Hydraulics Laboratory, Institute of Biomedical Technology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium. patrick.segers@ugent.be
Objectives:
Absolute (DeltaD) and relative (DeltaD/D) arterial diameter distension, parameters related to the elasticity of the vessel, can be measured in superficial arteries using ultrasound-based vessel "wall tracking" techniques. Currently available systems (e.g. the Wall Track System; WTS) measure the displacement of the media-adventitia transition (outer wall). We hypothesize that, given volume incompressibility of the vessel wall, DeltaD and DeltaD/D measured at the outer wall, significantly underestimate vessel distension at the lumen-intima interface (inner wall).
Methods:
We measured DeltaD and DeltaD/D at both the inner and outer wall of the common carotid artery in 39 subjects (aged 18-83 years) using a new prototype "wall tracking" system based on the Vivid-7 scanner (GE Vingmed Ultrasound, Horten, Norway). In addition, DeltaD and DeltaD/D were also measured using WTS.
Results:
As anticipated, tracking the inner wall yielded lower diastolic diameters than when tracking the outer wall (Ddia = 5.70 +/- 0.80 and 6.91+/- 0.98 mm, respectively, P < 0.0001). DeltaD (0.54+/- 0.16 versus 0.49 +/- 0.16 mm; P < 0.0001) and DeltaD/D (0.096+/- 0.030 versus 0.071+/- 0.026, P < 0.0001) were indeed larger at the inner than at the outer wall. For WTS, Ddia, DeltaD and DeltaD/D were 7.04 +/- 1.02 mm, 0.45 +/- 0.14 mm and 0.066 +/- 0.022, respectively.
Conclusions:
On average, DeltaD and DeltaD/D are 10 and 25% higher on the inner than on the outer wall, respectively. Follow-up studies in larger cohort trials are mandatory to assess whether tracking the inner wall yields arterial function parameters with a higher cardiovascular prognostic potential.
