Variations in acoustical beam properties of intracoronary Doppler catheters.

The limitations of coronary angiography in assessing the functional significance of coronary obstructions is well known. While the critical variable of coronary blood flow cannot be readily measured, intraluminal Doppler sonography offers useful related functional information on blood flow velocity. In order to fully evaluate Doppler signals it is essential to have exact knowledge of the transducer transmission characteristics and of the ultrasound beam topology. In an experimental set-up, the transmitter-receiver characteristics of five commonly used Doppler catheters were investigated. In comparing the beam characteristics we found inhomogeneities in the lateral beam spread. At a penetrat…