Two-dimensional blood flow vectors obtained with bidirectional Doppler ultrasound

Precise measurement of blood flow is important because blood flow closely correlates formation of thrombus and atherosclerotic plaque. Among clinically applied modalities for blood flow measurement, color Doppler ultrasound shows two-dimensional (2D) distribution of one-dimensional blood flow component along the ultrasound beam. In the present study, 2D blood flow vector is obtained with high temporal and bidirectional Doppler ultrasound technique. Linear array probe with the central frequency of 7.5 MHz and an ultrasound data acquisition system with 128 transmit and 128 receive channels were equipped. Frame rate of 5 kHz was achieved by parallel receive beam forming with a wide transmitted wave. The flow velocity was measured from two different angles by beam steering. The interval of two measurements was 0.8 msec and it was considered as almost one moment to obtain 2D blood flow vector. B-mode image and 2D blood flow vector of the pulsatile flow in a carotid artery model showed small vortex at the bifurcation area. The method was also applied for visualization of in vivo blood flow vector in human carotid arteries. 2D blood flow measurement may predict the risk area of thrombus and plaque formation induced by abnormal blood flow.