An integrated system for the evaluation of flow Mediated Dilation

An integrated system capable of estimating either the stimulus (wall shear rate change) and the effect (diameter change) in Flow Mediated Dilation (FMD) ultrasound investigations is presented. The FMD integrated system consists of a modified ULA-OP research platform and a post-processing software. The ULA-OP provides a real-time visual feedback on the positioning of the ultrasound probe on the artery of interest. Both B-mode images and blood velocity profiles can be checked during the entire exam so that the operator continuously controls the morphology and the hemodynamics of the region of interest. In addition, ULA-OP is used to acquire the raw I/Q demodulated data. These are post-processed through a Matlab^® platform to estimate the arterial diameter and the wall shear rate changes. Experimental examples are reported.