Exponentially tapered t-tube model of systemic arterial system in dogs

Abstract

This study determines the role of an asymmetric T-tube model as a representation of arterial mechanical properties. The model consists of two non-uniform tubes connected in parallel. The non-uniform properties of each tube include geometric and elastic tapering and each tube terminates in a complex load. Pulsatile pressure and flow velocity of the ascending aorta were measured in 10 closed-chest, anaesthetized dogs. An exponentially tapered transmission line is used to describe the non-uniform properties of the vasculature. The phase constant is a function of position along the path length due to geometric and elastic tapers. This non-uniform T-tube model makes it possible to fit the measured pressure waveform in the ascending aorta. Model parameters could be estimated and used to interpret the physical properties of the arterial system. The mathematical and experimental model impedance spectra are similar. There is a close correspondence between the impedance parameters derived from the non-uniform T-tube model and values computed from measurements on dogs. The results suggest that inclusion of tube tapering improves the mathematical model so that it closely represents the experimentally derived arterial impedance in closed-chest dogs. We conclude that the non-uniform properties of wave-transmission paths may play an important role in governing the behaviour of an asymmetric T-tube for the description of the arterial system.