Our Biomarkers
Our imaging biomarkers are the earliest manifestation of vascular aging & the strongest predictor of cardiovascular risk for intermediate risk patients
Biomarkers Offered By ArtFun+
Vascular stiffness and hemodynamics biomarkers commonly recognized as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseasesand significant predictors of mortality
Distensibility
The mechanical deformation of the patient’s vessel during the cardiac cycle.
Pulse Wave Velocity
The speed at which a cardiac pulse wave travels through a segment of the cardiovascular system.
Directional Flow
Blood flow in the physiological direction (Forward flow)
Regurgitation
Blood flow in the opposite of the physiological direction (Backward flow)
Changes in aortic stiffness have a high physiopathological relevance as they can lead to increases in the aortic pulse pressure and the cardiac pressure afterload, which can cause left ventricular hypertrophy. Arterial stiffness is recognized as a major risk factor in coronary heart disease, and is considered as an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. It is therefore increasingly used in clinical practice. Distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are commonly used to characterize the arterial stiffness.
Distensibility ( local stiffness biomarker) measures the mechnaical deformation of your patient’s vessel during the cardiac cycle, and provides you with accurate information about wall stiffness for a selected arterial section. To enable this measurement, ArtFun+ allows you to segment your patient’s arterial section easily and accurately over time.
PWV ( regional stiffness biomarker) measures the speed at which a cardiac pulse wave travels through a segment of the cardiovascular system. This measurement therefore provides insight into the stiffness of the arteries because a stiff artery allows the wave to travel faster. The higher the PWV, the greater the stiffness of the given segment. To provide this measurement, ArtFun+ allows you to easily and accurately calculate the transit time of the cardiac pulse flow wave and measure the length of the segment in question.
Forward Flow (FF) quantifies blood flow in the physiological direction. We provide all measurements such as ejection curve, volume, velocity, flow at ejection peak, ejection acceleration as well as information about ejection duration and transit time. Backward flow (BF) represents the reflux parameters, the quantification of blood flow in the reverse direction. BF is a marker of subclinical aoric remodeling and may help to better understand the pathways of hypertension, coronary artery disease and heart failure.
In addition to the leading biomarkers mentioned above, ArtFun+ enalbes a precise quantification multiple other geometrical and flow measurements, including:
Diameter
| Mean diameter (mm) |
| Min diameter (mm) |
| Max diameter (mm) |
| Diameter variation (%) |
Area
| Area (cm²) | Area Delineated By The Contour |
| Minimal Area (cm²) | Minimal area along cardiac cycle |
| Maximal Area (cm²) | Maximal area along cardiac cycle |
| Positive Flow Area (cm2) | Pixellic area represented by positive velocity pixels inside the contour |
| Negative Flow Area (cm2) | Pixellic area represented by negative velocity pixels inside the contour |
Strain
| Strain (%) | Ratio Of The Difference Between Max Area And Min Area Over Min Area |
Blood Velocity Measurements
| Mean Velocity (cm/s) | Mean velocity within the segmented vessel |
| Minimum Velocity (cm/s) | Minimal velocity within the segmented vessel |
| Maximum Velocity (cm/s) | Maximal velocity within the segmented vessel |
Positive Velocity
| Mean Positive Velocity (cm/s) | Mean velocity considering only positive velocity pixels (physiological direction of flow) within the segmented vessel |
| Minimum Positive Velocity (cm/s) | Minimal velocity considering only positive velocity pixels (physiological direction of flow) within the segmented vessel |
| Maximum Positive velocity (cm/s) | Maximal velocity considering only positive velocity pixels (physiological direction of flow) within the segmented vessel |
Negative Velocity
| Mean Negative Velocity (cm/s) | Mean velocity considering only negative velocity pixels (opposite of the physiological direction of flow) within the vessel |
| Minimum Negative Velocity (cm/s) | Minimal velocity considering only negative velocity pixels (opposite of the physiological direction of flow) within the vessel |
| Maximum Negative Velocity (cm/s) | Maximal velocity considering only negative velocity pixels (opposite of the physiological direction of flow) within the vessel |
Blood Flow Measurements
| Flow (mL/s) | Flow within the segmented vessel |
| Positive flow (mL/s) | Flow considering only positive velocity pixels (physiological direction of flow) within the segmented vessel |
| Negative flow (mL/s) | Flow considering only negative velocity pixels (opposite of the physiological direction of flow) within the vessel |
| Flow value at ejection peak (mL/s) | Maximal encountered flow value |
| Backward Flow at peak (mL/s) | Idem Flow value at ejection peak, but on negative -flow-only curve |
| Forward Flow at peak (mL/s) | Idem Flow value at ejection peak, but on positive-flow-only curve |
| Ejection acceleration slope (mL/s2) | Slope between the ejection start point and ejection peak point |
Blood Volumes Measurements
| Acceleration volume (mL) | Blood volume between the section between the ejection start and the ejection peak |
| Ejection volume (mL) | Blood volume between the section between the ejection start and the ejection end |
| Regurgitation volume (mL) | Negative blood volume between the ejection end and the regurgitation end |
| Net volume (mL) | Net blood volume during the whole cardiac cycle |
| Regurgitation fraction (%) | Ratio of the regurgitation volume over the net volume |
| Backward Flow Ejection volume (mL) | Ejection volume, but on negative flow components only |
| Forward Flow Ejection volume (mL) | Ejection volume, but on positive flow components only |
| Backward Flow Net volume (mL) | Net volume, but on negative flow only |
| Forward Flow Net volume (mL) | Idem Net volume, but on positive flow only |
Cardiac Events
| Ejection start (ms) | Temporal position of the ejection beginning on the net flow curve |
| Ejection peak (ms) | Temporal position of the ejection peak on net flow curve |
| Ejection end (ms) | Temporal position of the ejection end on net flow curve |
| Regurgitation end (ms) | Temporal position of the regurgitation end on net flow curve (if equal to ejection end, then there is no regurgitation) |
| Delay from flow max peak to area max peak (ms) | Time delay between the ejection peak point (flow curve) and the maximal area point (area curve) |
| Backward Flow Ejection start (ms) | Ejection start on negative flow only |
| Forward Flow Ejection start (ms) | Ejection start on positive flow only |
| Backward Flow Ejection peak (ms) | Ejection peak on negative flow only |
| Forward Flow Ejection peak (ms) | Ejection peak on positive flow only |
| Backward Flow Ejection end (ms) | Ejection end on negative flow only curve |
| Forward Flow Ejection end (ms) | Ejection end on positive flow only |
| Temporal % for Minimal Area | Moment of cardiac cycle where the minimal area happens, in percent |
| Temporal % for Maximal Area | Moment of cardiac cycle where the maximal area happens, in percent |
Confidence Estimation
| Confidence estimation for %T_min | Qualitative assessment of temporal position of minimal area |
| Confidence estimation for %T_max | Qualitative assessment of temporal position of maximal area |
Lenght
| Arterial Lenght (mm) | Lenght of the arterial centerline |
Transit Time
| Transit Time (ms) | Estimation of the delay between both flow curves |