Transcutaneous blood flow measurements in arteries of the human hand.

Technical advances in twenty MHz pulsed ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry (PUDVM) permit increasingly accurate measurements of blood flow in small vessels. This study applied advanced twenty MHz PUDVM methods to the transcutaneous, noninvasive quantitation of blood flow in arteries of the human hand. One hundred forty-four measurements were completed bilaterally in the digital arteries of all fingers and in the distal radial and ulnar arteries of the forearm. The data were averaged by artery for maximum velocity and average volumetric flow. The maximum velocity for digital and forearm arteries was about 20 centimeters per second and 50 centimeters per second, respectively. The average volumetric flow for these same arteries was about 0.02 cubic centimeters per second and 0.18 cubic centimeters per second, respectively. Statistical analysis demonstrated no differences between paired, contralateral arteries; within given fingers a difference occurred only between the radial and ulnar arteries of the index finger.