IMPULSE PROPAGATION IN RUBBER-TUBE ANALOGS OF ARTERIAL STENOSES AND ANEURYSMS

Analogs of arterial stenoses and aneurysms were constructed from latex tubing containing inserts of various lengths, and with diameters and elastic properties that differed from those of the surrounding tube. A pressure impulse (duration less than 10 ms) was generated at one end of the tube and its transmission and reflection were monitored at various points within the system using a catheter-tip manometer. The complex waveforms produced by multiple reflections from either end of the insert were analyzed and compared with those generated by a numerical model in which the reflection sites were regarded as isolated junctions between two tubes of infinite length. There was close agreement between the synthesized and measured waveforms.