Blood Flow Measurement

Abstract

The measurement of blood flow is important to the understanding and management of cardiovascular disease. The development of new imaging methods has allowed detailed quantification of in vivo blood flow that has traditionally been difficult. Both invasive and noninvasive methods have been used to measure blood flow, and this chapter outlines the main techniques of blood flow measurement for cardiovascular research and practical clinical applications. A brief history and the basic principles of each of the methods are presented along with their relative merits and potential pitfalls. Recent development of noninvasive imaging techniques has allowed detailed depiction and quantification of in vivo flow patterns, the main focus of this chapter is therefore directed towards Doppler ultrasound and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). The future trend of combining different imaging modalities for investigating the relationships between morphological structure and the hemodynamic properties of flow is also outlined.