In this paper, a more effective use of Doppler techniques is presented for the purpose of diagnosing atherosclerosis in its early stages using the carotid artery Doppler signals. The power spectral density (PSD) graphics are obtained by applying the short-time Fourier transform (STFT)-Welch and the Eigenvector MUSIC methods to the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) of Doppler signals. The PSDs for the fourth approximation component (A4) of both methods estimated that the patients with atherosclerosis in its early phase had lower maximum frequency components. On the other hand, the healthy subjects had higher maximum frequency components. The area under the curve (AUC), which belongs to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the frequency level of the maximum PSDs of the A4 approximation obtained from the STFT modeling, is computed as 0.97. The AUC for the MUSIC modeling is computed as 0.996. The AUC belonging to the ROC curve for the higher maximum frequency component is computed as 0.87. The AUC belonging to the ROC curve for the test parameter of the frequency level of the maximum PSDs derived from the MUSIC modeling is determined to be 0.882. The results of this study clearly demonstrate that it is possible to distinguish between the healthy people and the patients with atherosclerosis by using the frequency level of the maximum PSDs for the A4 approximation. Furthermore, it is concluded that the power of Eigenvector-MUSIC method in terms of the resolution of the high frequencies is better than that of the STFT methods.
V arious noninvasive techniques are used to evaluate the fetal surveillance. Doppler ultrasound allows for the examination of direction, velocity, and volume of blood flow. Umbilical artery blood flow velocity waveform measurement is one of these methods that is widely used in clinical practice for the evaluation of fetal condition. 1 Doppler systems are based on the principle that the ultrasound waves, emitted by an ultrasonic transducer, are returned partially back to the transducer by the moving red blood cells (erythrocytes), thereby inducing a shift in the frequency, which is proportional to the emitted frequency and the velocity along the direction of the ultrasound beam. The Doppler equation is defined as follows:where v is the velocity of the blood flow; f t , the frequency of the emitted ultrasonic signal; c, the velocity of sound in tissue; Df D , the measured Doppler frequency shift; and u, the angle of incidence that is between the direction of blood flow and the direction of the emitted ultrasonic beam. 2,3 Since the scatters within the ultrasound beam usually do not move at the same speed, a spectrum of Doppler frequencies will be observed. 4The spectral analysis of ultrasound Doppler signals is an efficient tool for blood flow analysis. 5,6 Since the velocity components are proportional to the frequency shifts, it is possible to track the velocity distribution by obtaining the power spectral density (PSD) estimates. The Doppler signal PSD, commonly referred to as the ''Doppler spectrum,'' provides a useful image of the velocity histogram of the erythrocytes, which statistically describes the flow as a distribution of the number of erythrocytes traveling through the sample volume at a given velocity. 7 The most usual way of displaying the information resulting from the spectral analysis is the Doppler sonogram. In a sonogram, the horizontal axis represents time (t), the vertical axis frequency (f), and the gray level intensity represents the power level of the corresponding frequency at each point of time. As the color tone of the sonogram turns into black, it implies that the power level is increased, and as it becomes lighter, the power level decreases. The variation of the spectral properties of the Doppler signal and a number of extents related to the blood flow can easily be tracked by monitoring the sonogram.The Doppler sonography waveform analysis of umbilical and uterine artery is the gold standard for the evaluation of normal and abnormal blood flow in the second and third trimesters. 1,2 The umbilical artery waveform in normal pregnancy is characterized by forward velocity levels, which remain high in diastole and increase with gestational age. 8 Decreased diastolic velocities, and occasionally reverse flow, are seen in certain cases of fetal complications. These changing waveforms have been associated with raised placental resistance. 9When the sonogram of the Doppler signals is obtained, the mean and/or the maximum frequency waveform can be estimated. The maximum frequency waveform extra...
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