New method for automatic measurement of arterial stiffness by Doppler ultrasound derived pulse wave velocity / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the accuracy and reproducibility of a new method, Automatic Measurement of Arterial Stiffness(AMAS) system, for arterial stiffness automatic measurement based on regional pulse wave velocity (PWV).Methods:A total of 30 hypertensive patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiology in Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University from September 1 to 30, 2019 were enrolled as hypertensive group, while 30 healthy participants at the same time were collected as healthy group. Carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) was measured in all subjects by two independent observers using the conventional manual method and the AMAS system. The measurements were compared and the agreement was analyzed.Results:There was no significant difference of cfPWV between AMAS system and the manual method, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.953 (95% CI=0.922-0.971). Bland-Altman plots showed good agreement [mean difference -(0.08±0.40)m/s; limit of agreement -0.87-0.71 m/s]. Time consumption for cfPWV measurement using the AMAS system was significantly less than that of conventional manual method, saving about 70% of the time. The cfPWV measured by AMAS showed good intra- and inter-observer reproducibility. Conclusions:AMAS system is accurate and reproducible in measuring arterial stiffness. It may provide a noninvasive, rapid, reliable approach for arterial stiffness evaluation in clinical settings.