Detecting cerebrovascular changes in the brain caused by hypertension in atrial fibrillation group using acoustocerebrography

PLoS One. 2018 Jul 6;13(7):e0199999. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199999. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Acoustocerebrography is a novel, non-invasive, transcranial ultrasonic diagnostic method based on the transmission of multispectral ultrasound signals propagating through the brain tissue. Dedicated signal processing enables the estimation of absorption coefficient, frequency-dependent attenuation, speed of sound and tissue elasticity. Hypertension and atrial fibrillation are well known factors correlated with white matter lesions, intracerebral hemorrhage and cryptogenic stroke numbers. The aim of this study was to compare the acoustocerebrography signal in the brains of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation patients with and without hypertension. The study included 97 asymptomatic patients (40 female and 57 male, age 66.26 ± 6.54 years) who were clinically monitored for atrial fibrillation. The patients were divided into two groups: group I (patients with hypertension) n = 75, and group II (patients without hypertension) n = 22. Phase and amplitude of all spectral components for the received signals from the brain path were extracted and compared to the phase and amplitude of the transmitted pulse. Next, the time of flight and the attenuation of each frequency component were calculated. Additionally, a fast Fourier transformation was performed and its features were extracted. After introducing a machine learning technique, the ROC plot of differentiations between group I and group II with an AUC of 0.958 (sensitivity 0.99 and specificity 0.968) was obtained. It can be assumed that the significant difference in the acoustocerebrography signals in patients with hypertension is due to changes in the brain tissue, and it allows for the differentiating of high-risk patients with asymptomatic atrial fibrillation and hypertension.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustics
  • Aged
  • Asymptomatic Diseases
  • Atrial Fibrillation / complications*
  • Brain / blood supply*
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / complications*
  • Hypertension / diagnostic imaging
  • Hypertension / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Ultrasonography / methods*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Development Bank of Saxony (EFRE Grant No.100109012/990.301573 to MW, PK, and AD), Sonovum AG, and SonoMED. This support was used for covering part of the construction of the scanning device and conducting the process of data acquisition. PK serves as a CEO to SonoMED. MW serves as a CTO to Sonovum AG and holds potential financial interest through patented technology. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The funders had no role in the conduct of the studies and analysis of the data but Sonovum AG and SonoMED contributed to the preparation of the manuscript.