A multi-dimensional approach for describing internal bleeding in an artery: implications for Doppler ultrasound...

Doppler ultrasound has shown promise in detecting and localizing internal bleeding. A mathematical approach was developed to describe the internal bleeding of the injured artery surrounded by tissue. This approach consisted of a two-dimensional (2D) model describing the injured vessel and a one-dimensional model (1D) mimicking the downstream of the vessel system. The validity of this approach was confirmed by both the numerical simulation and in vivo measurement of a normal porcine femoral artery. Furthermore, the artery was injured using a 16-gauge needle to model a penetrating injury. The velocity waveform at the puncture site was modeled and compared with those at the upstream and downstream of the artery. The results demonstrated that there was a significant increase in magnitude and a phase lag for the peak systolic velocity at the injury site. These results were qualitatively in agreement with the in vivo experiment. Flow turbulence indicated by this approach was also observed in a color Doppler image in the form of a checkered color pattern. This approach might be useful for quantitative internal bleeding detection and localization. Also, the phase lag of the peak systolic velocity was indicated to be potential in the application of internal bleeding detection.