Systolic Blood Flow Pattern Estimated from Multiple Sector-Scan Pulsed Doppler Velocimetry

Abstract

The interest of blood flow velocity and acceleration in the ascending aorta for the study of left ventricular performance has been previously outlined (1); though, for technical reasons, the method was not confirmed as a routine procedure. For reasons related to the anatomical location of the ascending aorta behind the sternum, a different region was selected — the left ventricular outflow tract — in order to introduce an external approach: a multiple-sectorscan, pulsed Doppler ultrasonic method. The first attempt to derive blood flow velocity fields in the human left ventricle was recently presented, demonstrating the possibility of measuring blood velocity at different locations during the ventricular fast filling phase (2). The same approach was proposed here, in order to determine, non-invasively, the blood flow velocity and acceleration fields in the ejecting left ventricle, notably in the outflow tract.