Imaging Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound to Measure Middle Cerebral Artery Blood Flow: The Importance of Measuring Vessel Diameter

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is commonly inferred from blood velocity measurements in the middle cerebral artery (MCA), using, non-imaging, transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD). However, both blood velocity and vessel diameter are critical components required to accurately determine blood flow, and th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology integrative and comparative physiology, 2020-07, Vol.319 (1), p.R33-R42
Main Authors: Jarrett, Catherine L, Shields, Katherine L, Broxterman, Ryan M, Hydren, Jay R, Park, Soung Hun, Gifford, Jayson R, Richardson, Russell S
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is commonly inferred from blood velocity measurements in the middle cerebral artery (MCA), using, non-imaging, transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD). However, both blood velocity and vessel diameter are critical components required to accurately determine blood flow, and there is mounting evidence that the MCA is vasoactive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to employ imaging TCD (ITCD), utilizing color flow images and pulse wave velocity, as a novel approach to measure both MCA diameter and blood velocity to accurately quantify changes in MCA blood flow. ITCD was performed at rest in 13 healthy participants (7M/6F; 28 ± 5 yr) with pharmaceutically-induced vasodilation (nitroglycerin (NTG), 0.8 mg) and without (CON). Measurements were taken for 2 minutes prior, and for 5 minutes following NTG or sham delivery (CON). There was more than a 5-fold, significant, fall in MCA blood velocity in response to NTG (∆-4.95 ± 4.6 cm/s) comparted to negligible fluctuation in CON (∆-0.88 ± 4.7 cm/s) (p
ISSN:0363-6119
1522-1490
DOI:10.1152/ajpregu.00025.2020