Effects of Blood Pressure on Brain Tissue Pulsation Amplitude in a Phantom Model

Jennifer K Nicholls; Poppy Turner; Andrea Lecchini-Visintini; Jonathan Ince; Georgina de Vries; Laurie Cappellugola; Mitsuhiro Oura; Kelechi U Ebirim; Edward Pallett; Kumar V Ramnarine; Emma M L Chung

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.06.005

Effects of Blood Pressure on Brain Tissue Pulsation Amplitude in a Phantom Model

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2023 Sep;49(9):2134-2139. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.06.005. Epub 2023 Jul 1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Cerebral Haemodynamics in Ageing and Stroke Medicine (CHiASM) Research Group, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; Department of Medical Physics, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK.
² Cerebral Haemodynamics in Ageing and Stroke Medicine (CHiASM) Research Group, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
³ Cerebral Haemodynamics in Ageing and Stroke Medicine (CHiASM) Research Group, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
⁴ Cerebral Haemodynamics in Ageing and Stroke Medicine (CHiASM) Research Group, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
⁵ Department of Medical Physics, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK.
⁶ Nihon Kohden Corporation, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, Japan.
⁷ School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
⁸ Department of Medical Physics, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK; Medical Physics Department, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁹ Cerebral Haemodynamics in Ageing and Stroke Medicine (CHiASM) Research Group, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; Department of Medical Physics, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK. Electronic address: emma.chung@kcl.ac.uk.

PMID: 37400302
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.06.005

Abstract

Objective: The precise mechanism and determinants of brain tissue pulsations (BTPs) are poorly understood, and the impact of blood pressure (BP) on BTPs is relatively unexplored. This study aimed to explore the relationship between BP parameters (mean arterial pressure [MAP] and pulse pressure [PP]) and BTP amplitude, using a transcranial tissue Doppler prototype.

Methods: A phantom brain model generating arterial-induced BTPs was developed to observe BP changes in the absence of confounding variables and cerebral autoregulation feedback processes. A regression model was developed to investigate the relationship between bulk BTP amplitude and BP. The separate effects of PP and MAP were evaluated and quantified.

Results: The regression model (R² = 0.978) revealed that bulk BTP amplitude measured from 27 gates significantly increased with PP but not with MAP. Every 1 mm Hg increase in PP resulted in a bulk BTP amplitude increase of 0.29 µm.

Conclusion: Increments in BP were significantly associated with increments in bulk BTP amplitude. Further work should aim to confirm the relationship between BP and BTPs in the presence of cerebral autoregulation and explore further physiological factors having an impact on BTP measurements, such as cerebral blood flow volume, tissue distensibility and intracranial pressure.

Keywords: Brain tissue pulsation; Brain tissue pulsation amplitude; Brain tissue pulsations; Mean arterial pressure; Phantom model; Pulse pressure; Transcranial tissue Doppler; Ultrasound.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arteries
Blood Pressure / physiology
Brain* / blood supply
Cerebrovascular Circulation / physiology
Intracranial Pressure* / physiology
Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial