High resolution wavenumber analysis for investigation of arterial pulse wave propagation

Abstract

The propagation of the pulse wave along the artery is relatively fast (several m/s), and a high-temporal resolution is required to measure pulse wave velocity (PWV) in a regional segment of the artery. High-frame-rate ultrasound enables the measurement of the regional PWV. In analyses of wave propagation phenomena, the direction and propagation speed are generally identified in the frequency-wavenumber space using the two-dimensional Fourier transform. However, the wavelength of the pulse wave is very long (1 m at a propagation velocity of 10 m/s and a temporal frequency of 10 Hz) compared with a typical lateral field of view of 40 mm in ultrasound imaging. Therefore, PWV cannot be identified in the frequency-wavenumber space owing to the low resolution of the two-dimensional Fourier transform. In the present study, PWV was visualized in the wavenumber domain using phases of arterial wall acceleration waveforms measured by high-frame-rate ultrasound.