Experimental Models of Compliance and Young’s Modulus of Woven Vascular Prosthesis

COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO NONINVASIVE METHODS USED TO ESTIMATE BIOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE INTERNAL CAROTID ARTERY

Background: Many cardiovascular diseases modified the arterial wall stiffness. Objectives: This work focuses on the quantification of the elastic biomechanical properties of the internal carotid (ICA) wall by applying the cepstral analysis on healthy volunteers aged from 22 to 86 years old. The purpose of this study is to compare two methods of measurement of arterial compliance ([Formula: see text], arterial distensibility ([Formula: see text], arterial elastance (Eh), and Young’s modulus ([Formula: see text]. Material and methods: First, arterial compliance and arterial distensibility were measured in function of wave speed ([Formula: see text], which is measured in our previous works by using two methods. Second, elastance Eh was estimated through the ratio between diastolic radius ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Finally, [Formula: see text] was estimated from a statistical study from the literature on h due to the difficulty of measuring wall thickness ([Formula: see text]. Results: The Student test demonstrated that there is a very significant difference between young and old subjects in terms of elastance, compliance, and Young’s modulus ([Formula: see text]). These findings are in agreement with the reference values reported in the literature. They are very satisfying for distinguishing a pathological change in parietal elasticity. Conclusion: The in vivo application of these methods presents their potential for clinical measurement of arterial stiffness.

A NOVEL METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE ARRIVAL TIME OF REFLECTED WAVE AT SINGLE SITE: VALIDATION USING PHASE CONTRAST MAGNETIC RESONANCE DATA

Characterization of the wave reflection and mainly its return time has significant clinical value in detecting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Indeed, the return time is an indicator which is used to evaluate the performance of peripheral perfusion and the propagation speed for arterial stiffness measurement. The study is aimed at implementing a novel model based on cepstral analysis for estimation of the arrival time of reflected wave ([Formula: see text]. The proposed method is specially based on cepstral analysis of the simulated blood velocity wave by using the Matlab software. To achieve this aim, we used a theoretical bidimensional model to simulate blood flow velocity, and we combined this model with clinical data acquired in two healthy subjects using phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PCMRI). Values of the arrival time of reflected wave measured are similar to the theoretical values. The suggested model is validated in vivo. We can conclude that the novel approach described in this paper offers a promising efficient and convenient method to determinate noninvasively arrival time of reflected wave.

Towards compliant small-diameter vascular grafts: Predictive analytical model and experiments

The search for novel, more compliant vascular grafts for the replacement of blood vessels is ongoing, and predictive tools are needed to identify the most promising biomaterials. A simple analytical model was designed that enables the calculation of the ratio between the ultimate stress (σ_ult) and the elastic modulus (E). To reach both the compliance of small-diameter coronary arteries (0.0725%/mmHg) and a burst pressure of 2031 mmHg, a material with a minimum σ_ult/E ratio of 1.78 is required. Based on this result and on data from the literature, random electrospun Polyurethane/Polycaprolactone (PU/PCL) tubular scaffolds were fabricated and compared to commercial ePTFE prostheses. PU/PCL grafts showed mechanical properties close to those of native arteries, with a circumferential elastic modulus of 4.8 MPa and a compliance of 0.036%/mmHg at physiological pressure range (80-120 mmHg) for a 145 μm-thick prosthesis. In contrast, commercial expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts presented a high Young's modulus (17.4 MPa) and poor compliance of 0.0034%/mmHg. The electrospun PU/PCL did not however reach the target values as its σ_ult/E ratio was lower than expected, at 1.54, well below the calculated threshold (1.78). The model tended to overestimate both the compliance and burst pressure, with the differences between the analytical and experimental results ranging between 13 and 34%, depending on the pressure range tested. This can be explained by the anisotropy of random electrospun PU/PCL and its slightly non-linear elastic behavior, in contrast to the hypotheses of our model. Impermeability tests showed that the electrospun scaffolds were impermeable to blood for all thicknesses above 50 μm. In conclusion, this analytical model allows to select materials with suitable mechanical properties for the design of small-diameter vascular grafts. The novel electrospun PU/PCL tubular scaffolds showed strongly improved compliance as compared to commercial ePTFE prostheses.