Pulse wave imaging of a stenotic artery model with plaque constituents of different stiffnesses: Experimental demonstration in phantoms and fluid-structure interaction simulation

Vulnerable plaques associated with softer components may rupture, releasing thrombotic emboli to smaller vessels in the brain, thus causing an ischemic stroke. Pulse Wave Imaging (PWI) is an ultrasound-based method that allows for pulse wave visualization while the regional pulse wave velocity (PWV) is mapped along the arterial wall to infer the underlying wall compliance. One potential application of PWI is the non-invasive estimation of plaque’s mechanical properties for investigating its vulnerability. In this study, the accuracy of PWV estimation in stenotic vessels was investigated by computational simulation and PWI in validation phantoms to evaluate this modality for assessing future stroke risk. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) phantoms with plaque constituents of different stiffnesses were designed and constructed to emulate stenotic arteries in the experiment, and the novel fabrication process was described. Finite-element fluid–structure interaction simulations were performed in a stenotic phantom model that matched the geometry and parameters of the experiment in phantoms. The peak distension acceleration of the phantom wall was tracked to estimate PWV. PWVs of 2.57 ms−1, 3.41 ms−1, and 4.48 ms−1 were respectively obtained in the soft, intermediate, and stiff plaque material in phantoms during the experiment using PWI. PWVs of 2.10 ms−1, 3.33 ms−1, and 4.02 ms−1 were respectively found in the soft, intermediate, and stiff plaque material in the computational simulation. These results demonstrate that PWI can effectively distinguish the mechanical properties of plaque in phantoms as compared to computational simulation.