Measurement of Vessel Shape for Estimating the Viscoelastic Properties of the Radial Artery under Ultrasound Probe Pressure

In this study, blood vessel shape was accurately measured to evaluate the viscoelastic properties of the radial artery. For a robust measurement, the shape parameters of the elliptical blood vessel were determined by integrating the brightness over the entire vessel instead of using the brightness gradient at the vessel boundary. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulations and in vivo experiments. The results obtained exhibit considerable potential for estimating the viscoelastic properties of elliptically deformed blood vessels.