Evaluation of materials used for vascular anastomoses using shear wave elastography

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects a substantial portion of the elderly population (>70 years). PAD can be symptomatic or asymptomatic, and treatment is directed towards improving functional vessel patency and limb salvage. Revascularization surgical treatments are needed in some cases, and it is not always possible to use autologous veins for vascular grafting. In this case, synthetic materials may be used. Synthetic materials such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) and poly (ethylene terephthalate) (Dacron) have been used. These materials are much stiffer compared to normal arterial vessels so developing alternative materials is an active area of research. One such potential material is a polyvinyl alcohol cryogel reinforced arterial model (PRAM). In this study we used shear wave elastography (SWE) techniques to compare the mechanical behavior of excised aortas and anastomoses formed between the aortas and the Dacron, ePTFE, and PRAM materials. Different initial longitudinal strains (0%-40%) and transmural pressures (20-180 mmHg) were used to test a wide range of parameters that are within physiological ranges. We found that the PRAM materials had similar mechanical behavior in terms of group velocity measured in the vessel wall with respect to the excised aortas compared to the Dacron and ePTFE that had higher values of group velocity. The ratios of the group velocity for the PRAM material with respect to the aortas ranged from 0.83 to 1.13 where the Dacron and ePTFE had ranges of 1.12-2.22 and 1.91-3.10 for the same stretch and pressure ranges. The PRAM materials provide an alternative vascular material with better mechanical matching with excised aortas.