Development of a Blood Flow Measurement Protocol Using Particle Image Velocimetry

Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease (PAOD) is an acquired inflammatory disease where a peripheral artery becomes occluded due to the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques. In patients that possess collateral arteries, an occlusion can lead to shear induced outward remodeling, arteriogenesis, of these collaterals, partially restoring blood flow. However, newly remodeled collaterals exhibit reduced functional vasodilation, which may impair normal activity, such as ambulation. To model chronic ischemia and arteriogenesis in collaterals, a femoral artery ligation in a murine hindlimb is commonly performed. Previous efforts by our group involved measurements of collateral artery diameter to assess the impact of arteriogenesis on functional vasodilation/vascular reactivity; however diameter measurements are not as descriptive as an assessment of flow, and performing particle image velocimetry allows the change in blood flow control to be investigated. Particle image velocimetry was performed in the profunda femoris artery of unoperated murine hindlimbs with 3µm fluorescent microspheres. Resting and vasodilation measurements were assessed for protocol validation. As expected, muscle stimulation increased flow significantly compared to that assessed at resting, accordingly, all other measured parameters also increased significantly