Pulse Wave Velocity Doppler Measurement of Ulnar Artery Using a High-Frequency Probe

To evaluate cardiovascular risks at an early stage, the pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a relevant marker that reflects stiffening and ageing of the arterial network. Today, several gold standard methods exist to measure PWV, in particular regional PWV, but they are only available in clinical environments. Moreover, they are mainly used for one-time measurements and are potentially biased. However, PWV can also be locally assessed to target specific arteries by the mean of ultrasonic devices using pulse transit time (PTT) or flow-section (QA) based methods. In this study, we aim to demonstrate a full Doppler QA method to measure the PWV at the ulnar artery using a high-frequency (HF) ultrasonic probe that could lay the basis for a wrist-worn device dedicated to cardiovascular risk assessment. By using a custom high-frequency H-probe and a Vantage system, PWVs from 6 to 14 m/s from a 1-hour experiment with a median value of 8.25 m/s have been measured at the ulnar artery of a healthy volunteer. These results agree with literature and expected values for small arteries, typically ulnar or radial arteries.