Study of Arterial Function and Remodelling by Using Radiofrequency and a New Multidirectional Doppler Technology

Introduction: Atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of a cardiovascular disease epidemic worldwide. The understanding of normal artery structure and function and the initial disarrangements conducting to atherosclerosis is of key relevance to develop preventive interventions based on a rational study of arterial structural and functional parameters, their pathologic behaviour and response to therapeutic interventions. New US approaches enable a precise evaluation of the forces and stimuli acting on the arterial wall and measure its responses precisely in different clinical stages of the arterial atherosclerotic disease and a better assessment of the efficacy or not of different therapeutic interventions. The ability to analyse WSS hemodynamically and to measure it accurately is an essential basis for the assessment of the atherosclerotic risk in the general population. A new angle-independent technique, measuring and visualizing blood flow velocities in all directions, called Vector Flow Imaging (VFI), has been proposed. Systems are equipped with VFI based on a multi-angle transmission plane waves method, which allows a very high frame rate and a detailed visualization of complex flow.