Ultrasonography.  2017 Apr;36(2):144-152. 10.14366/usg.16019.

Assessing the blood pressure waveform of the carotid artery using an ultrasound image processing method

• Soleimani
• Mokhtari-Dizaji M
• Fatouraee
• Saberi H

• KMID: 2376066
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14366/usg.16019

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to introduce and implement a noninvasive method to derive the carotid artery pressure waveform directly by processing diagnostic sonograms of the carotid artery.
METHODS
Ultrasound image sequences of 20 healthy male subjects (age, 36±9 years) were recorded during three cardiac cycles. The internal diameter and blood velocity waveforms were extracted from consecutive sonograms over the cardiac cycles by using custom analysis programs written in MATLAB. Finally, the application of a mathematical equation resulted in time changes of the arterial pressure. The resulting pressures were calibrated using the mean and the diastolic pressure of the radial artery.
RESULTS
A good correlation was found between the mean carotid blood pressure obtained from the ultrasound image processing and the mean radial blood pressure obtained using a standard digital sphygmomanometer (R=0.91). The mean absolute difference between the carotid calibrated pulse pressures and those measured clinically was −1.333±6.548 mm Hg.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study suggest that consecutive sonograms of the carotid artery can be used for estimating a blood pressure waveform. We believe that our results promote a noninvasive technique for clinical applications that overcomes the reproducibility problems of common carotid artery tonometry with technical and anatomical causes.

Keyword

Ultrasonography; Carotid arteries; Arterial pressure; Computer assisted image processing; Calibration

MeSH Terms

Arterial Pressure
Blood Pressure*
Calibration
Carotid Arteries*
Carotid Artery, Common
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Male
Manometry
Methods*
Radial Artery
Sphygmomanometers
Ultrasonography*