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Abstract #3784

Wall Shear Stress Measurement Error in the Common Carotid Artery: A Dual Modality Study

Alex J. Barker1, Fuxing Zhang1, Philip E. Gates2, Luciano A. Mazzaro1, Jonathan Fulford2, Craig J. Lanning3,4, Robin Shandas3,4

1Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA; 2Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, UK; 3Division of Cardiology, The Children's Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA; 4Center for Bioengineering, University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences, CO, USA


Wall shear stress and its regional patterns have been co-located with atherosclerotic lesions. However, vessels known to manifest at-risk lesions, such as the common carotid artery, test the spatial limits of 1.5 T phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI). The measurement of WSS is also confounded by partial volume errors and in-flow artifacts. An alternative experimental technique, recently developed in our group, uses ultrasound-based particle image velocimetry (Echo-PIV) to determine velocity fields at excellent spatial and temporal resolutions. Therefore, this study addresses the use of these two modalities for calculating WSS directly in arterial flow fields of less than 10 mm in diameter.