Femoral artery cuff plethysmography in arterial occlusive disease

Pulse volume recorder (PVR) measurements are similar to arterial pressure contour tracings and have proved valuable in determining the degree of arterial obstruction in the lower extremity. However, with the standard PVR tracing with thigh, calf, and ankle cuffs, differentiation between high superficial femoral or common femoral artery lesions and combined iliac and superficial femoral artery lesions is extremely difficult. Because the operative approach will vary, depending on whether the disease is primarily in the iliac arteries (and thus intra-abdominal) or in the femoral arteries (and thus extra-abdominal), we have devised a noninvasive method for measuring pressure and flow in the femoral artery with a special cuff. With the addition of the measurement obtained by this method of the standard PVR tracing, the noninvasive differentiation between iliac and high superficial femoral lesions has proved possible.