Resolving the time lag between pressure and flow for the determination of local wave speed in elastic tubes and arteries

It is well established that wave speed can be determined using the initial linear part of the pressure–velocity loop (PU-loop). However, the frequency response of most flow measuring devices is usually slower than that of solid-state pressure transducers; making flow waveforms lagging in time behind pressure waveforms. If this lag, which is traditionally determined by eye, is not corrected prior to the analysis, the PU-loop method may provide inaccurate wave speeds. The main aim of this work is therefore to introduce an objective technique to establish the value of this lag.The new technique relies on the linearity between pressure and velocity in the absence of reflections, and determines the highest correlation factor between pressure and velocity in the range of minimum pressure to maximum velocity. We shifted the flow waveform backwards in time steps equal to the sampling interval, and the time shift associated with the highest correlation indicates the correct time lag of the flow waveform. We first tested the new technique in vitro using a uniform latex tube and compared the results to those established using the traditional by eye method, whilst varying the filter setting of the flowmeter. Then we applied the new technique to pressure and flow measured in the ascending aorta of anaesthetised open-chested dogs.We found the time lag between pressure and velocity calculated by the new technique in good agreement with that determined by eye in vitro and that increasing the filtering power generated greater delay between the measured pressure and flow. The results obtained in vivo using the new technique were also in good agreement with those determined by eye. We therefore conclude that the new technique provides a convenient and objective way of correcting the lag and can reliably align pressure and flow.