Characterization of Pulsatility and Temperature Profile During Reactive Hyperemic Response

Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have compromised blood flow to their extremities as a result of arterial narrowing. PAD is often associated with impairment in endothelial function which is exaggerated by injury from processes related to cardiovascular risk factors such as ageing, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking, and obesity [1]. Furthermore, patients with diabetes often have calcified arteries making standard non-invasive testing non diagnostic [2]. With increase in diabetes prevalence and concomitant PAD, a new non-invasive assessment method of arterial function that has the potential to reflect both arterial tone and response to ischemia reperfusion may be valuable. We have developed a peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) system (previously described, [3]) that is capable of measuring pulsatility in peripheral digits. We complemented our system with simultaneous peripheral temperature measurements that could not only add value in understanding PAD, but also aid in clinical diagnoses. In this investigation, we characterized our system on healthy individuals before using it on patients suffering from arterial disease in future investigations.