A noninvasive measurement technique for the initial bending stiffness of an arterial wall

Abstract

Vascular disease poses a significant threat to human health. Effective detection methods for quantifying noninvasive arterial wall stiffness enable the early identification of populations exhibiting arteriosclerosis tendencies, providing substantial value for vascular disease prevention and treatment. However, current methods for evaluating arterial stiffness rely on simple tangent stiffness, which is affected by blood pressure fluctuations. This study utilizes a collapse model to investigate arterial deformation and pulse wave propagation under transmural pressure with different arterial wall thicknesses and material properties. Based on the pressure–area relationship of collapsed blood vessels, the relationship between pulse wave velocity and initial bending stiffness at the collapsed state is derived. A method is, then, proposed to evaluate the arterial wall bending stiffness incorporating cuff and photoplethysmography technology for assessing arteriosclerosis. This method is verified through a collapse experiment with a rubber tube and employed in measuring the initial bending stiffness of a human radial artery in vivo. The implementation of this measurement method facilitates vascular stiffness measurements beyond the restriction of tangent modulus and blood pressure changes, offering a quantitative evaluation of arterial wall stiffness. The technique can, therefore, amplify the precision and dependability of preliminary arteriosclerosis lesion diagnostic procedures.