Objective: We investigate the field feasibility of carotid stiffness measurement using ARTSENS® Touch and report the first community-level data from India. Method: In an analytical cross-sectional survey among 1074 adults, we measured specific stiffness index ( $\beta $ ), pressure-strain elastic modulus ( $\text{E}_{\text {p}}$ ), arterial compliance (AC), and one-point pulse wave velocity (PWV $_{\beta }$ ) from the left common carotid artery. Data for established risk factors (waist circumference, blood pressure, plasma glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-C) were also collected. The association of carotid stiffness with age, gender, hypertension/diabetes, smoking, and clustering of risk factors was studied. Results: Measurements were repeatable with a relative difference (RD) between consecutive readings of < 5% for blood pressure and < 15% for $\sim 80$ % of arterial diameter values. The average RDs for $\beta $ , $\text{E}_{\text {p}}$ , AC, and PWV $_{\beta }$ , were 20.51%, 22.31%, 25.10%, and 14.13%, respectively. Typical range for stiffness indices among females and males were $\beta $ : 8.12 ± 3.59 vs 6.51 ± 2.78, $\text{E}_{\text {p}}$ : 113.24 ± 56.12 kPa vs 92.33 ± 40.65 kPa, PWV $_{\beta }$ : 6.32 ± 1.38 ms⁻¹ vs 5.81 ± 1.16 ms⁻¹, and AC: 0.54 ± 0.36 mm² kPa⁻¹ vs 0.72 ± 0.38 mm² kPa⁻¹. Mean $\beta $ , $\text{E}_{\text {p}}$ , and PWV $_{\beta }$ increased (and mean AC decreased) across decades of age; the trend persisted even after excluding hypertensives and subjects with diabetes. The odds ratio of presence of multiple risk factors for $\text{E}_{\text {p}} \ge93.71$ kPa and/or PWV $_{\beta } \ge6.56$ ms⁻¹ was ≥ 2.12 or above in males. In females, it was just above 2.00 for $\text{E}_{\text {p}} \ge91.21$ kPa and/or PWV $_{\beta } \ge5.10$ ms⁻¹ and increased to ≥ 3.33 for $\text{E}_{\text {p}} \ge143.50$ kPa and ≥ 3.25 for PWV $_{\beta } \ge7.31$ ms⁻¹. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the feasibility of carotid stiffness measurement in a community setting. A positive association between the risk factors and carotid artery stiffness provides evidence for the device’s use in resource-constrained settings. Clinical Impact: The device paves the way for epidemiological and clinical studies that are essential for establishing population-level nomograms for wide-spread use of carotid stiffness in clinical practice and field screening of ‘at-risk’ subjects.

中文翻译：

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使用 ARTSENS® 评估社区环境中的颈动脉僵硬度


目的：我们研究使用 ARTSENS® Touch 测量颈动脉硬度的现场可行性，并报告来自印度的第一份社区级数据。方法：在对 1074 名成年人进行的分析横断面调查中，我们测量了比刚度指数 ( $\贝塔$ ）、压力应变弹性模量（ $\text{E}_{\text{p}}$ )、动脉顺应性 (AC) 和单点脉搏波速度 (PWV $_{\测试版}$ ）来自左颈总动脉。还收集了已确定的危险因素（腰围、血压、血糖、甘油三酯和高密度脂蛋白胆固醇）的数据。研究了颈动脉僵硬与年龄、性别、高血压/糖尿病、吸烟和危险因素聚集的关系。结果：测量结果具有可重复性，连续读数之间的相对差异 (RD) 为 < 5%（血压）和 < 15%（血压） $\SIM 80$动脉直径值的百分比。平均 RD 为$\贝塔$ , $\text{E}_{\text{p}}$ 、AC 和 PWV $_{\测试版}$ 、 分别为 20.51%、22.31%、25.10% 和 14.13%。女性和男性硬度指数的典型范围是$\贝塔$ ：8.12 ± 3.59 与 6.51 ± 2.78， $\text{E}_{\text{p}}$ ：113.24 ± 56.12 kPa 对比 92.33 ± 40。65 kPa，脉搏波速度$_{\测试版}$ ： 6.32 ± 1.38 ms ^-1对比 5.81 ± 1.16 ms ^-1 ，AC： 0.54 ± 0.36 mm ² kPa ^-1对比 0.72 ± 0.38 mm ² kPa ^-1 。意思是$\贝塔$ , $\text{E}_{\text{p}}$ 、脉搏波速度$_{\测试版}$在数十年的时间里增加（平均 AC 减少）；即使排除高血压和糖尿病患者，这种趋势仍然持续存在。存在多种危险因素的比值比$\text{E}_{\text{p}} \ge93.71$ kPa 和/或 PWV $_{\beta}\ge6.56$男性中 ms ⁻¹ ≥ 2.12 或以上。在女性中，该值略高于 2.00 $\text{E}_{\text{p}} \ge91.21$ kPa 和/或 PWV $_{\beta}\ge5.10$ ms ⁻¹并增加至 ≥ 3.33 $\text{E}_{\text{p}} \ge143.50$ kPa 且 PWV ≥ 3.25 $_{\beta}\ge7.31$毫秒^-1 。结论：该研究证明了在社区环境中颈动脉硬度测量的可行性。危险因素与颈动脉僵硬度之间的正相关性为该设备在资源有限的环境中使用提供了证据。 临床影响：该设备为流行病学和临床研究铺平了道路，这些研究对于建立人群水平列线图至关重要，以便在临床实践和“高危”受试者现场筛查中广泛使用颈动脉僵硬。