pu-loop

Earlier work of wave dissipation in flexible tubes and arteries has been carried out predominantly in the frequency domain and most of the studies used the measured pressure waveform for presenting the results. In this work we investigate the pattern of wave dissipation in the time domain using the separated forward and backward travelling waves in flexible tubes. We tested four sizes of latex tubes of 2m in length each, where a single semi-sinusoidal in shape, pressure wave, was produced at the inlet of each tube...

Arterial wave speed is widely used to determine arterial distensibility and has been utilised as a surrogate marker for vascular disease. A comparison between the results of the traditional foot-to-foot method for measuring wave speed to those of the pressure-velocity loop (PU-loop) method is one of the primary objectives of this paper. We also investigate the regional wave speed along the aorta, and the effect of arterial occlusion on the PU-loop measured in the ascending aorta. In 11 anaesthetised dogs, a total occlusion lasting 3 min was produced at four sites: upper thoracic, diaphragm, abdominal and left iliac artery...

Wave intensity analysis is a time domain method for studying waves in elastic tubes. Testing the ability of the method to extract information from complex pressure and velocity waveforms such as those generated by a wave passing through a mismatched elastic bifurcation is the primary aim of this research. The analysis provides a means for separating forward and backward waves, but the separation requires knowledge of the wave speed. The PU-loop method is a technique for determining the wave speed from measurements of pressure and velocity, and investigating the relative accuracy of this method is another aim of this research...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aortic clamping on arterial waves during peripheral vascular surgery. We measured pressure and velocity simultaneously in the ascending aorta, in ten patients (70+/-5 years) with aortic-iliac disease intra-operatively. Pressure was measured using a catheter tip manometer, and velocity was measured using Doppler ultrasound. Data were collected before aortic clamping, during aortic clamping and after unclamping. Hydraulic work in the aortic root was calculated from the measured data, the reflected waves were determined by wave-intensity analysis and wave speed was determined by the PU-loop (pressure-velocity-loop) method; a new technique based on the 'water-hammer' equation...

Considering waves in the arteries as infinitesimal wave fronts rather than sinusoidal wavetrains, the change in pressure across the wave front, dP, is related to the change in velocity, dU, that it induces by the "water hammer" equation, dP=+/-rhocdU, where rho is the density of blood and c is the local wave speed. When only unidirectional waves are present, this relationship corresponds to a straight line when P is plotted against U with slope rhoc. When both forward and backward waves are present, the PU-loop is no longer linear...