A method for arterial diameter change measurements using ultrasonic B-mode data

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Arterial diameter changes reflect distending blood pressure and are crucial for assessing arterial stiffness.
• Current methods for tracking arterial walls using ultrasound often compromise B-mode image quality due to high pulse repetition frequency and separate pulsing sequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance a previously developed fast algorithm for direct lumen diameter measurement from B-mode images.
• To implement robust noninvasive in vivo measurements of common carotid artery diameter change, maximum differential wall velocity, and relative diameter change.
• To evaluate the influence of the region of interest (ROI) lateral width on measurement accuracy and reproducibility.

Main Methods:

• Development and refinement of a fast algorithm for direct lumen diameter measurement from B-mode ultrasound images.
• In vivo assessment of common carotid artery diameter changes and related parameters.
• Systematic evaluation of different lateral ROI widths (1 pixel to 5 mm) to determine optimal parameters for measurement accuracy.

Main Results:

• An optimal lateral ROI width of 2.5 mm was identified, yielding high accuracy and low systematic/random differences for diameter and velocity measurements.
• Reproducibility was found sufficient for in vivo studies when using a lateral ROI width of 1.0 mm or wider.
• Coefficients of variation ranged from 1.9% to 7.9% for different measured parameters.

Conclusions:

• The improved B-mode ultrasound technique provides robust and reproducible noninvasive measurements of arterial diameter change and related parameters.
• This method is suitable for in vivo studies assessing arterial stiffness, particularly when employing an ROI width of 1.0 mm or greater.