Power spectral estimation of high-harmonics in echoes of wall resonances to improve resolution in non-invasive measurements of wall mechanical properties in rubber tube and ex-vivo artery

•A new estimation method of Young modulus into arterial walls is proposed.•Method is based on the power spectral evolution of λ/2 resonances inside tubular wall.•Motivation is to make possible a predictive diagnosis of vascular pathologies.•Novelty is reached high-res (0.1%) related to that one previously disposable (3.4%). The aim of this work is to develop a new type of ultrasonic analysis of the mechanical properties of an arterial wall with improved resolution, and to confirm its feasibility under laboratory conditions. Motivation: it is expected that this would facilitate a non-invasive path for accurate predictive diagnosis that enables an early detection & therapy of vascular pathologies. In particular, the objective is to detect and quantify the small elasticity changes (in Young’s modulus E) of arterial walls, which precede pathology. A submicron axial resolution is required for this analysis, as the periodic widening of the wall (under oscillatory arterial pressure) varies between ±10 and 20 μm. This high resolution represents less than 1% of the parietal thickness (e.g., an order of magnitude) compared to conventional approaches. The resolution of a typical ultrasonic image is limited to several hundred microns, and thus, such small changes are undetected. The proposed procedure provides a non-invasive and direct measure of elasticity by doing an estimation of changes in the Nf0 harmonics and wall thickness with a resolution of 0.1%, for first time. The results obtained by using the classic temporal cross-correlation method (TCC) were compared to those obtained with the new procedure. The latter allowed the evaluation of alterations in the elastic properties of arterial walls that are 30 times smaller than those being detectable with TCC; in fact, the depth resolution of the TCC approach is limited to ≈20 μm for typical SNRs. These values were calculated based on echoes obtained using a reference p