Laser Doppler vibrometry for in vivo assessment of arterial stiffness

It has been shown that in cardiovascular risk management, stiffness of large arteries has a very good predictive value for cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. This parameter can be estimated from the pulse wave velocity (PWV) measured between the common carotid artery (CCA) (neck) and femoral (groin) artery. However, current methods to determine arterial PWV suffer from several shortcomings. In this work, we propose a novel, non-contact laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) technique, for evaluating carotid PWV, directly from CCA. This approach was extensively validated in vitro, and here it is tested for the first time on a small group of young healthy volunteers. Our preliminary results demonstrate that laser-based non-contact measurement of PWV is feasible, as measured PWV values are consistent with the literature. With possible clinical applications in mind, the non-contact character of the method combined with the possibility to measure carotid PWV, promises important advantages over existing methods. Moreover, measurements are straightforward and do not require intensive training.