Patent ID: 7250031
Filing Date: 2007-07-31
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method for assessing vascular endothelial function, comprising; a stimulation step of giving stimulation for inducing a release of endothelium-derived relaxing factors from vascular endothelium to a specified region of the artery in a living body, a pre-stimulation measurement step of measuring, before said stimulation step, almost simultaneously first pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information which is a pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information related to the velocity at which a pulse conducts through the first segment including a part or a whole of the specified region of the artery and second pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information which is said pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information of the artery in the second segment almost symmetric to said first segment with respect to the median plane, a post-stimulation measurement step of measuring said first pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information and said second pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information after said stimulation step, and a comparative value calculation step of calculating respectively the pre-stimulation comparative value representing a difference or ratio of the first pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information to the second pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information obtained at said pre-stimulation measurement step and the post-stimulation comparative value representing a difference or ratio of the first pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information to the second pulse-wave-conduction-velocity-relating information obtained at said post-stimulation measurement step.