PT Journal
AU G. Zahnd
   Simone Balocco
   A. Serusclat
   P. Moulin
   M. Orkisz
   D. Vray
TI Progressive attenuation of the longitudinal kinetics in the common carotid artery: preliminary in vivo assessment Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
SO Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
JI UMB
PY 2015
BP 339
EP 345
VL 41
IS 1
DI 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.07.019
DE Arterial stiffness; Atherosclerosis; Common carotid artery; Longitudinal kinetics; Motion tracking; Ultrasound imaging
AB Longitudinal kinetics (LOKI) of the arterial wall consists of the shearing motion of the intima-media complex over the adventitia layer in the direction parallel to the blood flow during the cardiac cycle. The aim of this study was to investigate the local variability of LOKI amplitude along the length of the vessel. By use of a previously validated motion-estimation framework, 35 in vivo longitudinal B-mode ultrasound cine loops of healthy common carotid arteries were analyzed. Results indicated that LOKI amplitude is progressively attenuated along the length of the artery, as it is larger in regions located on the proximal side of the image (i.e., toward the heart) and smaller in regions located on the distal side of the image (i.e., toward the head), with an average attenuation coefficient of -2.5 ± 2.0%/mm. Reported for the first time in this study, this phenomenon is likely to be of great importance in improving understanding of atherosclerosis mechanisms, and has the potential to be a novel index of arterial stiffness.
ER