Technical Validation and Usability of a Portable Ultrasound-Based System for Carotid Assessment of Vascular Ageing: A Pilot Study
| Autor: | Gregorio Di Franco, Vincenzo Gemignani, Maria Raffaella Martina, Martina Francesconi, Andrea Buzzelli, S. Armenia, Rosa Maria Bruno, Elisabetta Bianchini |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Adult Male medicine.medical_specialty Aging Carotid Artery Common Carotid arteries Carotid distensibility Pilot Projects Carotid IMT Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Ultrasound probe Portable system Ultrasound Carotid Arteries Humans Middle Aged Reproducibility of Results Ultrasonography Medicine Medical physics Ultrasound image Reproducibility business.industry Usability Portable ultrasound Vascular ageing Common Carotid Artery Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine business |
| Popis: | Objective The objective of this work was to investigate technical validation and usability of an innovative, technically simple, easy-to-use, and portable integrated system to assess carotid function and structure by ultrasound. Methods The studied system integrated a hardware (the Interson SP-L01 embedded ultrasound probe [Interson, Pleasanton, CA, USA]) and a software measuring the instantaneous diameter of the carotid artery in real-time from B-mode ultrasound image sequences (Carotid Studio, by Quipu Srl [Pisa, Italy]). Technical validation was evaluated by intra-operator reproducibility of two measurements acquired by an expert operator, and agreement with state-of-the-art technique (Mylab25 by Esaote SpA [Genova, Italy], Carotid Studio 4.3 by Quipu Srl) was evaluated in laboratory settings in 12 healthy volunteers; usability of the portable integrated system was investigated by administering questionnaires to users and the results were reported with scores based on a five-point scale. Results Twelve (12) healthy volunteers (five men, mean age 44.5±13.6 years, free of cardiovascular disease or risk factors), were recruited. Agreement with state-of-the-art technique was satisfactory, with no significant bias. Coefficient of variation (intra-operator reproducibility) was 3.2% (2.5% SD) for intima-media thickness, 0.9% (0.7% SD) for diameter, and 2.5% (2.2% SD) for distension. Usability questionnaires showed an overall positive judgement of the integrated system with respect to the traditional one, obtaining an average score greater than 4 (on a five-point scale). Conclusions A portable, innovative prototype to easily assess ultrasound carotid parameters of vascular ageing was successfully designed, developed, and demonstrated to be comparable with state-of-the art technique. Usability was also satisfactory. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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