A New Method of Color Doppler Perfusion Measurement via Dynamic Sonographic Signal Quantification in Renal Parenchyma

Abstract

Objective: Perfusion quantification of tissues is an important goal to evaluate the state of blood supply of an organ. We developed a method to quantify tissue perfusion via color Doppler signal quantification from sonographic videos and applied this to describe renal parenchymal perfusion in healthy kidneys. Method: Color Doppler sonographic videos of renal perfusion from both kidneys of 87 healthy children (age 2 weeks to 16 years) were recorded under defined conditions. Perfusion data (color hue, color area) were measured in a standardized region of interest automatically. Signal intensity was calculated as whole ROIs (regions of interest) mean flow velocity (cm/s) encoded by color Doppler signals during one full heart cycle. Results: Normal signal intensity values are: 1.86 cm/s in the region encompassing central 50% of the renal cortex and 0.56 cm/s in the peripheral 50% of the renal cortex. These differences are significant. Signal intensity of both kidneys did not differ. Conclusion: Signal intensity of cortical tissue in healthy kidneys was quantified noninvasively from color Doppler signal data in an easily accomplishable manner with new measurement software. Normal values for this technique have been calculated. Possible further applications might be all situations, where perfusion changes could be expected like inflammation, renal insufficiency, vascular diseases and tumors.

Dynamic Tissue Perfusion Measurement: A New Tool for Characterizing Renal Perfusion in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients

“…As contrast agents are unnecessary for this type of examination, which is cost-efficient and non-invasive, the observation time is not restricted and the examination can be repeated as often as needed. To gain consistent and robust data, we increased the recording time from 3 s [16,17,18,19] to 10 s. Thus, the data presented here are average perfusion parameters from several cardiac cycles. Using this information, we were able to calculate various parameters, such as vessel area and dynamic flow velocities, to judge the overall perfusion status of a kidney.…”

“…Individual cardiac cycles were detected automatically by the PixelFlux® software and all complete cardiac cycles were the basis for further calculations. We increased the recording time from 3 s [16,17,18,19] to 10 s. As this was the first time, this technique was applied to kidneys bearing RCC, a prolonged recording time was chosen in order to receive valid Doppler US data from at least one complete cardiac cycle. By measuring the perfused area and individual flow velocities in the ROI, several characteristic perfusion parameters were determined.…”

The Efficiency of Synthetic Sex Pheromones in Sexual Arousal Stimulation in Domestic Dogs

“…To visualize the examined vessel, color coded ultrasonography was used (Gunzel-Apel et al 2001). For the evaluation of the results Pixel Flux ® software (Chameleon Software, Germany) dedicated for dynamic sonographic tissue perfusion measurement was used , Scholbach et al 2004, Wieczorek et. al.…”

Assessment of urethral vascularity using 2D colour Doppler high-frequency endovaginal ultrasonography in women treated for symptomatic stress urinary incontinence: 1-year prospective follow-up study

“…Despite its importance, the assessment of vascular parameters describing urethral blood perfusion has not been comprehensively investigated. High-frequency EVUS and Pixel Flux dedicated software for the assessment of blood perfusion in various organs have been studied [5,11,14]. We have previously analysed the vascular parameters in the urethra in continent women with the use of EVUS and Pixel Flux [8].…”