Determination of Aortic Characteristic Impedance and Total Arterial Compliance From Regional Pulse Wave Velocities Using Machine Learning: An in-silico Study

In-vivo assessment of aortic characteristic impedance (Z(ao)) and total arterial compliance (C-T) has been hampered by the need for either invasive or inconvenient and expensive methods to access simultaneous recordings of aortic pressure and flow, wall thickness, and cross-sectional area. In contrast, regional pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements are non-invasive and clinically available. In this study, we present a non-invasive method for estimating Z(ao) and C-T using cuff pressure, carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV), and carotid-radial PWV (crPWV). Regression analysis is employed for both Z(ao) and C-T. The regressors are trained and tested using a pool of virtual subjects (n = 3,818) generated from a previously validated in-silico model. Predictions achieved an accuracy of 7.40%, r = 0.90, and 6.26%, r = 0.95, for Z(ao), and C-T, respectively. The proposed approach constitutes a step forward to non-invasive screening of elastic vascular properties in humans by exploiting easily obtained measurements. This study could introduce a valuable tool for assessing arterial stiffness reducing the cost and the complexity of the required measuring techniques. Further clinical studies are required to validate the method in-vivo.

Automated summary

A non-invasive method for estimating aortic characteristic impedance and total arterial compliance was proposed in this study, achieving high accuracy through regression analysis and training on virtual subjects. This approach could be a valuable tool for non-invasively screening elastic vascular properties in humans.