Noninvasive Assessment of Jugular Venous Pressure via Force-Coupled Single Crystal Ultrasound.

Abstract

we have developed a handheld device for noninvasive quantitative assessment of jugular venous pressure (JVP). we used a single crystal ultrasound coupled to a force-sensing load cell to measure JVP based on the force necessary to collapse the internal jugular vein (IJV) walls. We used a gelatin-based model system of the IJV to test the ability of single crystal ultrasound to identify the IJV and verified the cross-sectional position and diameter of the vessels with conventional imaging ultrasound. We also tested our prototype device on healthy human volunteers. experiments on model system demonstrated that vessel diameters determined with single crystal ultrasound were in close agreement with the diameters derived from conventional 2-D ultrasound. Proof-of-concept human experiments demonstrate that single crystal ultrasound can detect the IJV in basal and collapsed states, as compared to gold-standard sonography (insert stats). Assessment of JVP in human volunteers was physiologically consistent with and sensitive to postural changes (supine JVP 6.6 ± 2.4 mmHg; standing JVP 4.2 ± 1.9 mmHg (p < 0.0001). noninvasive assessment of JVP could prove valuable in informing rapid clinical decision-making across various pathologies and conditions leading to derangements in intravascular volume status.