Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1762541 | Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology | 2008 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
Turbulence is an important factor in the assessment of stenotic disease and a possible causative mechanism for thromboembolism. Previous Doppler studies of turbulence have typically used whole-blood preparations or suspensions of erythrocytes. Recently, a water-glycerol based blood-mimicking fluid (BMF) has been developed for use in Doppler ultrasound studies. This fluid has desirable ultrasound properties but it has not previously been described during in vitro investigations of turbulence intensity. We report on investigations of grid-generated and constrained-jet turbulence in an in vitro test system. The BMF was found to generate significant levels of turbulence during steady flow at physiological flow rates, producing turbulent patterns in the distal region that were consistent with previous studies. Turbulence intensity increased significantly with flow rate (p < 0.005) for both the constrained jet and the constrained grid. Based on our observations, we conclude that a water-glycerol based BMF provides a suitable working fluid during in vitro investigations of turbulence using Doppler ultrasound. (E-mail: david.holdsworth@imaging.robarts.ca)
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Authors
Meghan L. Thorne, Tamie L. Poepping, Richard N. Rankin, David A. Steinman, David W. Holdsworth,