Method and device for monitoring and improving arteriogenesis

The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein deriving the slew rate of the temporal progression comprises:

• determining the slew rate by deriving the progression of the blood flow condition with respect to time;
• or determining the slew rate by relating an increase of the progression to the distance of time spanned by the increase.

The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the temporal progression is represented by a time-discrete blood flow condition signal comprising at least two values of the same positive slope or by a time-continuous blood flow condition signal comprising at least one positive slope.

The method of one of the preceding claims, comprising determining a measure for an arteriogenic capacity of the subject, wherein the method comprises repeatedly determining a variation of the arteriovascular condition with a repetition in time intervals greater than 5 days, wherein the variation of the arteriovascular condition is in monotone increasing relationship to a measure for an arteriogenic capacity of the subject reflecting the progress of an arteriovascular condition of the subject or reflecting a response on physical training of the subject;

• wherein the measure for the arteriogenic capacity is determined according to the variation and the relationship.

The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the vascular condition is determined by a plurality of consecutive individual arteriovascular condition determinations and by averaging the resulting individual arteriovascular conditions, or by identifying the maximum of the resulting individual arteriovascular conditions.

The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein determining a temporal progression of a blood pressure quantity comprises measuring blood flow properties within an arteriovascular section of the subject by laser Doppler velocimetry, sonography or magnetic resonance imaging of the arteriovascular section, or by pressure sensoring according to wrist blood pressure monitoring, finger blood pressure monitoring, sphygmomanometry, plethysmometry, plethysmography, or intravascular blood pressure sensing, or impedance measurements of tissue or at the arteriovascular section or at a myocardial section.

The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein a relative peak shear index (RPSI) and/or a pulse shear index (PSI) is determined.

An arteriovascular condition indicator device, comprising:

• an input (10) for receiving an input signal representing an instantaneous arterial blood flow condition of a subject;
• a slew rate monitor (20) connected to the input (10), the slew rate monitor (20) relating variations of the blood flow condition to a distance of time spanned by the variation, the slew rate monitor (20) providing a slew rate representing the variations;
• a maximum detector (30) connected to the slew rate monitor (20) for receiving the slew rate, the maximum detector (30) being suited to identify and to provide a maximum slew rate to an output element (50) of the indicator device, the output element (50) being connected to the maximum detector (30) and being suitable to output a representation of the maximum slew rate as an indicator for the arteriovascular condition.

A control device for providing an activation signal comprising:

• an input for receiving an input signal representing an instantaneous arterial blood flow condition of a subject;
• a slew rate monitor connected to the input, the slew rate monitor relating variations of the blood flow condition to a distance of time spanned by the variation, the slew rate monitor providing a slew rate representing the variations;
• a maximum detector connected to the slew rate monitor for receiving the slew rate, the maximum detector being suited to identify a point of time at which the maximum slew rate occurs, and to provide a signal to an activation output of the control device synchronized to the point of time of the maximum slew rate, the activation output being suited to output the activation signal upon receipt of the signal provided by maximum detector.

A method for stimulation of arteriogenesis, comprising:

• determining a temporal progression of an instantaneous blood flow condition of the arterial blood flow through an arteriovascular section of a subject;
• deriving a slew rate of the temporal progression during an increase of the temporal progression;
• and determining the maximum of the slew rate, wherein an external pressure is applied repeatedly to the arteriovascular section in synchronization with the occurrence of the determined maximum.