Accurate and continuous ultrasonography evaluation of small diameter vascular prostheses in�vivo

Abstract

There is a large clinical requirement for novel vascular grafts; however, the development of novel vascular grafts has not been extremely successful to date. The most successful method for the continuous evaluation of vascular grafts in vivo remains unclear. Therefore, an optimal successive, non-invasive imaging modality is necessary for the study of vascular transplantation. In the present study, a common rabbit model of carotid artery defect was utilized. The patency and hemodynamic characteristics of implanted grafts was examined following surgery by color Doppler ultrasound in three modes, including B-mode, color flow map and pulse-Doppler examination. The results revealed that ultrasound had sufficient spatial resolution to generate clear images of the carotid artery of rabbits with or without the implanted grafts. Color Doppler ultrasound may be applied to evaluate and differentiate the patent, stenosis and occlusion of carotid arteries in rabbits with different vascular grafts implanted. Furthermore, color Doppler ultrasound is an optimal imaging modality for continuous evaluation in vivo. It is also possible for some quantitative analyses to be performed, including measuring the diameter of vascular lumens and the flow velocity of the region of interest. The present study suggests vascular ultrasound as the optimum choice for continuous surveillance of vascular prostheses in vivo, which may provide valuable information about the grafts in order to greatly shorten the experimental period.

Monitoring cardiovascular disease severity using near-infrared mechanoluminescent materials as a built-in indicator

“…14,15 Occlusion or stenosis of small-diameter vessels can result in these diseases. [15][16][17] The implantation of artificial vascular grafts (AVGs) or stents are currently the main treatment strategies. 16 However, occlusion, thrombus or restenosis of the implanted AVGs frequently occurred due to the different states of blood vessels in patients, resulting in implant failure and endangering the lives of patients.…”

“…[15][16][17] The implantation of artificial vascular grafts (AVGs) or stents are currently the main treatment strategies. 16 However, occlusion, thrombus or restenosis of the implanted AVGs frequently occurred due to the different states of blood vessels in patients, resulting in implant failure and endangering the lives of patients. At the same time, the rapid, real-time, and noninvasive monitoring methods of the status of both CVDs and AVGs after implantation in patients are limited.…”

Endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular stenosis with stent for patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease

“…In particular, cervical vascular ultrasound primarily identifies the location, size, and the degree of luminal stenosis. [ 12 , 13 ] More than 80% of patients in the present study were diagnosed with different degrees of cerebrovascular lesions using cervical vascular ultrasound and subsequent DSA. Therefore, cervical vascular ultrasound provides important clinical value in preliminary inspections of ICVD.…”

Noninvasive Flow Monitoring in Simple Flow Phantom Using Resistive Strain Sensors

“…The goal of our study was to formulate a new method for vessel monitoring and to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method by experiments using simple flow phantoms. We propose this noninvasive method instead of conventional vessel monitoring, which requires expert analysis [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] or invasive methods [16][17][18][19]. The movement of the vessels cause pressure variations that are transmitted to the skin to produce subtle changes.…”

“…Conventional methods for monitoring blood flow include Doppler flowmetry [3,4], spectroscopy [5,6], sonography [7,8], computed tomography [9], electrical capacitance [10], photon attenuation [11], and ultrasound [12], which are used to visualize or analyze vessel structures as well as fluid flow. These methods are commonly used in hospitals as the instruments are expensive, have complicated operations, and require trained operators for accurate analyses [13].…”