Signal processors in duplex sonography: in vitro comparison between analog and digital methods.

Using a new flow-test phantom, which respects the acoustic properties of real blood as well as the proximal and distal impedances of body circulation, we assessed the performance of two duplex sonography signal processors on blood-flow measurements. With both the analog and the dynamic signal processor (Fast Fourier Transform), the correlation between duplex sonography and quantitative flow measurements was high (0.96-0.99) for different dynamic conditions (steady or pulsatile blood flow, varying heart rate, blood pressure, and hematocrit) and for different mechanical conditions (silicon tube or animal vessel). The real blood flow was overestimated by duplex sonography; the over-estimation was more pronounced with the analog processor (factor 1.87-4.20) than with the digital processor (factor 1.22-1.64, P < 0.05). Applied to the study of asymmetric stenoses, the digital processor was not superior to the analog processors described in the literature.