Cyclic changes in blood echogenicity under pulsatile flow are frequency dependent

Previous in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that blood echogenicity varies under pulsatile flow, but such changes could not always be measured at physiological stroke rates. The apparent contradiction between these studies could be a result of the use of different ultrasound frequencies. Backscattered signals from porcine blood were measured in a pulsatile Couette flow apparatus. Cyclic changes in shear rate for stroke rates of 20 to 70 beats per minute (BPM) were applied to the Couette system, and different blood samples were analyzed (normal blood and blood with hyperaggregating erythrocytes promoted with dextran). To confirm that cyclic echogenicity variations were observable, spectral analysis was performed to verify if changes in echo-amplitude corresponded to the stroke rate applied to the flow. Echogenicity was measured with two single-element transducers at 10 and 35 MHz. At 35 MHz, cyclic variations in backscatter were observed from 20 to 70 BPM. However at 10 MHz, they were detected only at 20 BPM. For all cases except for hyperaggregating red blood cells (RBCs) at 20 BPM, the magnitude of the cyclic variations were higher at 35 MHz. We conclude that cyclic variations in RBC aggregation exist at physiological stroke rates, unlike what has been demonstrated in previous in-vitro studies at frequencies of 10 MHz. The increased sensitivity at 35 MHz to small changes in aggregate size might be the explanation for the better characterization of RBC aggregation at high stroke rates. Our results corroborate in-vivo observations of cyclic blood echogenicity variations in patients using a 30-MHz intravascular ultrasound catheter.