Assessment of tissue Doppler imaging measurements of arterial wall motion using a tissue mimicking test rig.

The aim of this in vitro study is to assess the accuracy of the tissue Doppler imaging arterial wall motion (TDI AWM) technique in measuring dilation over a range of distances and velocities. A test rig, consisting of two parallel blocks of tissue mimicking material (TMM), has been developed to generate known wall motion. One block remains stationary while the other moves in a cyclical motion. A calibrated laser range finder was used to measure the TMM motion. The TDI AWM measurements were found to underestimate the dilation by 21% +/- 4.7% when using the recommended scanner parameters. The size of the error was found to increase with a decrease in ultrasound output power. Results suggested that errors in the TDI AWM dilation measurements relate to underestimates in the velocity measured by the TDI technique. The error demonstrated in this study indicates a limitation in the value of TDI AWM result obtained in vivo. (E-mail: abigail.thrush@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk).