A noninvasive measurement technique for the initial stiffness of the radial artery

• Published in: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials 2024-12, Vol.160, p.106765, Article 106765
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yixing, Feng, Xue, Shi, Mingxing, Ma, Yinji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Artery stiffness; Biomechanical Phenomena; Blood Pressure; Hyperelasticity; Independent of blood pressure; Mechanical Phenomena; Noninvasive measurement; Radial Artery - diagnostic imaging; Radial Artery - physiology; Swine; Ultrasonography; Vascular Stiffness
• ISSN: 1751-6161; 1878-0180; 1878-0180
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2024.106765

Arterial stiffness carries significant implications for cardiovascular disease. Monitoring changes in arterial stiffness is integral to proactive health management, however, current noninvasive methods of quantifying stiffness in vivo rely primarily on linear tangent stiffness, making the measurements vulnerable to the variability of blood pressure and thereby affecting the accuracy in portraying the health status of the arteries. This study proposed a novel methodology for evaluating arterial stiffness that is unaffected by changes in blood pressure. Ultrasound detection techniques are applied to accurately chronicle changes in radial artery diameters across varied blood pressures. Incorporating blood pressure measurements, the initial diameter at cuff blockade, and vessel diameters at systolic and diastolic pressures enables inverse determination of the unstressed initial radial artery stiffness. This method accurately mirrors the results of in vitro experiments employing porcine blood vessels at physiological pressures. The results underscore the technique's ability to quantify arterial mechanical properties precisely. This study offers a groundbreaking strategy for fostering the early detection of atherosclerosis, and aiding artery health regulation. •The study introduces a new method for assessing arterial stiffness that is not affected by blood pressure.•The method has been validated against the widely used pulse wave velocity technique for atherosclerosis detection.•The study offers a significant advancement the potential in early detection of atherosclerosis.