Quantitative evaluation of multiple arterial stenoses using 3D power Doppler imaging

Three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler imaging (PDI) was used in this in vitro study to quantify multiple arterial stenoses. Two types of stenotic arterial phantoms were created. One was based on a porcine abdominal artery, while the other was designed to allow the control of a proximal and a distal stenosis on each side of a central stenosis made of wall-less agar lumen. 3D power Doppler images of the flow within the lumens were generated with different flow rates under steady and pulsatile flows using a PowerMacintosh based 3D imaging system. Results indicated that the presence of proximal and distal stenoses does not affect the quantification of the central stenosis under evaluation using 3D PDI. The average errors of the estimate of the cross-sectional area of 80% and 50% area reduction stenoses were -10% and -4%, respectively.