Ultrasound Probe Pressure Affects Aortic Wall Stiffness: A Patient-Specific Computational Study in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.

Purpose: Ultrasound imaging is key in the management of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). It was recently shown that the cyclic diameter variations between diastole and systole, which can be quantified with US imaging, increase significantly with the strength of the applied probe pressure on the patient's abdomen. The goal of this study is to investigate this effect more thoroughly.

Fast strain mapping in abdominal aortic aneurysm wall reveals heterogeneous patterns.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm patients are regularly monitored to assess aneurysm development and risk of rupture. A preventive surgical procedure is recommended when the maximum aortic antero-posterior diameter, periodically assessed on two-dimensional abdominal ultrasound scans, reaches 5.5 mm.