Dynamic Coronary Blood Flow Velocity and Wall Shear Stress Estimation Using Ultrasound in an Ex Vivo Porcine Heart

Purpose: Wall shear stress (WSS) is a critically important physical factor contributing to atherosclerosis. Mapping the spatial distribution of local, oscillatory WSS can identify important mechanisms underlying the progression of coronary artery disease.

Methods: In this study, blood flow velocity and time-varying WSS were estimated in the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery of an ex vivo beating porcine heart using ultrasound with an 18 MHz linear array transducer aligned with the LAD in a forward-viewing orientation. A pulsatile heart loop with physiologically-accurate flow was created using a pulsatile pump. The coronary artery wall motion was compensated using a local block matching technique. Next, 2D and 3D velocity magnitude and WSS maps in the LAD coronary artery were estimated at different time points in the cardiac cycle using an ultrafast Doppler approach. The blood flow velocity estimated using the presented approach was compared with a commercially-available, calibrated single element blood flow velocity measurement system.

Results: The resulting root mean square error (RMSE) of 2D velocity magnitude acquired from a high frequency, linear array transducer was less than 8% of the maximum velocity estimated by the commercial system.

Conclusion: When implemented in a forward-viewing intravascular ultrasound device, the presented approach will enable dynamic estimation of WSS, an indicator of plaque vulnerability in coronary arteries.