Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Continuous Venous-Arterial Doppler Ultrasound During a Preload Challenge
Published on: January 20, 2023
Feasibility of Combined Doppler-ECG Assessment of Internal Jugular Veins
Inge Dierickx1, Simon Van Hooland2, Kathleen Tomsin3
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Algemeen Ziekenhuis Sint Lucas, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Physiology, University Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium.
Abstract:
A standardized combined Doppler-electrocardiography technique was developed for measurement of the triphasic waveform characteristics in the internal jugular vein. Flow velocities at the A, X, V and Y peaks, the RR interval and the PA and RX times were measured. From these the venous impedance index ([X-A]/X) and the ratios PA/RR and RX/RR were calculated. Six measurements were performed at three different locations by two ultrasonographers in 21 randomly selected pregnant and non-pregnant women. Statistical models proved the feasibility and reproducibility of this technique, with the highest concordance correlation coefficients in the right distal internal vein. Bootstrapping revealed that repeating the measurements more than four times would not significantly enhance the precision of the estimated mean. Concordance correlation coefficients for the venous impedance index, PA time and PA/RR ratio were >0.63 for all three locations, proving their possible use in ongoing and future studies, analogous to previous studies in kidney and liver.
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