Abstract
We analysed the vascular morphology of the palm using a photoacoustic tomography (PAT) instrument with a hemispherical detector array. The three-dimensional (3D) morphology of blood vessels was determined noninvasively. Overall, 12 females and 11 males were recruited as healthy volunteers. Their ages were distributed almost evenly from 22 to 59 years. In all cases, many vascular networks were observed just beneath the skin and were determined to be veins anatomically. To analyse the major arteries, the layer containing the subcutaneous venous network was removed from the image. The analysis focused on the common and proper palmar digital arteries. We used the curvature of these arteries as a parameter to analyse their morphologies. There was no significant difference in the curvature between genders when comparing the subjects as a whole. The blood vessel curvature increased with age. Good agreement was found between the 3D numerical analysis results and the subjective evaluation of the two-dimensional (2D) projection image. The PAT system enabled visualization of the 3D features of blood vessels in the palm and noninvasive analysis of arterial tortuousness.
Highlights
Blood is conducted via blood vessels; arterial blood carries the necessary oxygen to each organ in the body, and venous blood is reoxygenated in the lungs
We have developed a photoacoustic (PA) imaging system to acquire images for the diagnosis of breast cancer[7,8,9,10,11] and have demonstrated that 3D imaging can be realized with a resolution of less than 0.5 mm using the third prototype (PAI-03)[10,11]. We considered this device to be useful for detailed analyses for breast cancer and peripheral blood vessels, such as those in the palm
We report an analytical test of blood vessel structure for exploratory clinical research, focusing on the twisting and winding of blood vessels in healthy subjects to determine the shape of blood vessels in healthy subjects
Summary
Blood is conducted via blood vessels; arterial blood carries the necessary oxygen to each organ in the body, and venous blood is reoxygenated in the lungs. The two-dimensional X-ray angiography results of the abdominal aorta of patients with disease have shown that the curvature changes in individuals over 405, it has not been confirmed by clinical research with comparisons to the morphology of the peripheral blood vessels of healthy subjects. This lack of confirmation is because conventional blood vessel imaging methods require invasive procedures, such as the use of angiographic contrast agents and/or radiation exposure. We report an analytical test of blood vessel structure for exploratory clinical research, focusing on the twisting and winding of blood vessels in healthy subjects to determine the shape of blood vessels in healthy subjects
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