Toward a noninvasive subject-specific estimation of abdominal aortic pressure

A method for estimation of central arterial pressure based on linear one-dimensional wave propagation theory is presented in this paper. The equations are applied to a distributed model of the arterial tree, truncated by three-element windkessels. To reflect individual differences in the properties of the arterial trees, we pose a minimization problem from which individual parameters are identified. The idea is to take a measured waveform in a peripheral artery and use it as input to the model. The model subsequently predicts the corresponding waveform in another peripheral artery in which a measurement has also been made, and the arterial tree model is then calibrated in such a way that the computed waveform matches its measured counterpart. For the purpose of validation, invasively recorded abdominal aortic, brachial, and femoral pressures in nine healthy subjects are used. The results show that the proposed method estimates the abdominal aortic pressure wave with good accuracy. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the estimated waveforms was 1.61 +/- 0.73 mmHg, whereas the errors in systolic and pulse pressure were 2.32 +/- 1.74 and 3.73 +/- 2.04 mmHg, respectively. These results are compared with another recently proposed method based on a signal processing technique, and it is shown that our method yields a significantly (P < 0.01) lower RMSE. With more extensive validation, the method may eventually be used in clinical practice to provide detailed, almost individual, specific information as a valuable basis for decision making.