Key result
Two-stage ESPRIT flexural wavenumber analysis accurately recovers local viscoelastic moduli in arterial phantom segments.
Why the study?
Comprehensive characterization of arterial viscoelastic material properties for localized pathologies such as atherosclerotic plaques requires spatially local estimation of both guided wave dispersion and wave attenuation.
This experimental phantom study introduces a high-resolution, two-stage flexural wave analysis method capable of locally characterizing arterial wall viscoelasticity and stiffness variations, offering a potential mathematical framework for future non-invasive assessment of localized vascular pathologies like atherosclerotic plaques.
Phantom validation extends local viscoelastic mapping methods; leaves open in vivo translation for arterial pathology.
The measurement of guided wave propagation is an effective approach for evaluating arterial wall stiffness. A more comprehensive characterization of viscoelastic material properties could yield more informative biomarkers; however, this additionally requires estimation of wave attenuation. Furthermore, spatially local estimation is necessary for localized pathologies, such as atherosclerotic plaques. To this end, we propose an original two-stage high-resolution method to recover local viscoelastic properties from guided waves in artery-like soft tubes. First, the local frequency-wavenumber dispersion relation including losses is estimated using a high-resolution complex wavenumber identification method. Second, assuming a fractional Kelvin-Voigt rheological model for the tube wall, we estimate the viscoelastic material parameters by fitting the dispersion relation computed with a spectral element method to this estimate. We experimentally validate the proposed approach on flexural wave propagation along water-filled soft tubes, measured with a high-speed camera coupled with digital image correlation. Owing to the high resolution of the method, the axial modulus variation of a graded phantom is recovered. Finally, a Cramér-Rao analysis indicates that the complex wavenumber estimator operates near its theoretical limit, and reveals why local attenuation is intrinsically difficult to recover.
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Gattin et al. (2026) studied Arterial wall viscoelasticity and stiffness (in vitro artery-mimicking phantoms) (n=3). Two-stage high-resolution flexural wavenumber analysis (ESPRIT algorithm + fractional Kelvin-Voigt spectral element model inversion) vs. Standard 2D Fourier transform and global full-length viscoelastic estimates was evaluated on Complex Young's modulus (storage modulus E'c and loss modulus E''c at 100 Hz reference frequency). Two-stage ESPRIT flexural wavenumber analysis recovered local viscoelastic moduli in 8-cm phantom segments matching global values (E'c 131.5 kPa for E30 and 493.0 kPa for SC12 at 100 Hz).
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