Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.3
2.5
Journals
Applied Sciences
Special Issues
Novel Insights into the Cardiovascular System: From Analytical Approach to...
applsci-logo
Submit to Applied Sciences Review for Applied Sciences Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Novel Insights into the Cardiovascular System: From Analytical Approach to Application

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomedical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2025) | Viewed by 1273

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Helena Lenasi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institue of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University pf Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: cardiovascular physiology; microcirculation; sports physiology; endurance; endothelium; laser doppler; iontophoresis; wavelet analysis; heart rate variability; hyperglycemia; oral glucose tolerance test; cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET); VO2 max
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce a new Special Issue of Applied Sciences dedicated to the cardiovascular system, especially emphasizing newer methods and analytical tools to evaluate it.

Healthy microcirculation is crucial for maintaining cardiovascular health and tissue survival, serving as the final vascular bed for nutrients and blood gas exchange. Dysfunctional microcirculation is often one of the earliest hallmarks of various diseases, underscoring the importance of understanding its (patho)physiological background.

Adequate functioning of the microvascular bed is imminently connected and dependent on other elements of the cardiovascular system, not to mention the venular system and the lymphatics that have often been overlooked.

Despite many efforts and daily achievements in developing new techniques for monitoring various aspects of the cardiovascular system, significant gaps remain, particularly concerning in vivo tracings essential for routine clinical practice.

This Special Issue aims to attract experts from various scientific fields, from theoretical approaches and mechanistic studies of the cardiovascular system to physicians involved in clinical practice and engineers developing mathematical models, advanced technological devices, and sophisticated signal analysis algorithms for hemodynamic monitoring. We welcome original research, review articles, and case reports that will contribute to expanding our knowledge of the cardiovascular system's functioning and tracing.

Dr. Helena Lenasi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mathematical algorithms
  • microcirculation
  • laser Doppler flowmetry
  • optical imaging
  • plethysmography
  • echocardiography
  • Doppler ultrasound
  • endothelium
  • oxidative stress
  • biomarkers
  • flow mediated dilation
  • near-infrared spectroscopy
  • microRNA
  • tissue oxygenation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 1040 KiB  
Article
Texture Analysis of Near-Infrared Vein Images During Reactive Hyperemia in Healthy Subjects
by Henrique Silva and Carlota Rezendes
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 5702; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105702 - 20 May 2025
Abstract
Venous perfusion plays a crucial role in vascular health, yet functional assessment of superficial veins remains limited. Near-infrared reflectance imaging (NIRI) devices, commonly used for vein visualization, may offer untapped potential in this context. We investigated whether texture analysis (TA) applied to NIRI-based [...] Read more.
Venous perfusion plays a crucial role in vascular health, yet functional assessment of superficial veins remains limited. Near-infrared reflectance imaging (NIRI) devices, commonly used for vein visualization, may offer untapped potential in this context. We investigated whether texture analysis (TA) applied to NIRI-based vein finder images can detect dynamic changes in superficial venous structure during reactive hyperemia. Fourteen healthy adults underwent a suprasystolic occlusion protocol, with real-time images acquired from the hand dorsum. From defined regions of interest, we extracted classical texture parameters (e.g., contrast, correlation, entropy, energy, fractal dimension, and lacunarity) and vein width. While vein width significantly increased during occlusion (p < 0.001), most individual texture parameters remained stable. Notably, correlation increased during occlusion (p = 0.023), and lacunarity decreased during recovery (p = 0.024). We developed composite indices combining texture and morphological features. Entropy-to-width and correlation-to-width ratios decreased during occlusion (p < 0.001), while total entropic content rose (p < 0.001). A modest increase in the correlation-to-entropy ratio during recovery (p = 0.026) suggested delayed reorganization of venous texture. These findings indicate that TA of vein finder images captures functional vascular responses beyond morphology alone. Composite parameters enhance sensitivity and may support the development of non-invasive, low-cost tools for assessing venous function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Insights into the Cardiovascular System: From Analytical Approach to Application)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 4338 KiB  
Article
Wavelet Analysis and the Cone of Influence: Does the Cone of Influence Impact Wavelet Analysis Results?
by Lana Kralj, Martin Hultman and Helena Lenasi
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11736; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411736 - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 989
Abstract
Wavelet analysis (WA) decomposes laser Doppler (LD) microcirculatory signals into characteristic frequency intervals related to endothelial nitric oxide (NO)-independent, endothelial NO-dependent, neurogenic, myogenic, respiratory, and cardiac physiological influences. Since LD signals have a finite length, the WA results suffer from spectral leakage due [...] Read more.
Wavelet analysis (WA) decomposes laser Doppler (LD) microcirculatory signals into characteristic frequency intervals related to endothelial nitric oxide (NO)-independent, endothelial NO-dependent, neurogenic, myogenic, respiratory, and cardiac physiological influences. Since LD signals have a finite length, the WA results suffer from spectral leakage due to edge effects. The cone of influence (COI) delineates the regions of the wavelet scalogram where these effects become important. We aimed to determine whether accounting for the COI leads to significant differences in the WA results. Two typical patterns of LD signals were analysed: a baseline and a post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) signal. The WA spectra were constructed without and with excluding data affected by the COI. The relative power (RP = median power of each frequency interval/median power of the total spectrum) of the spectral components obtained without and with the COI was compared. Applying the COI correction did not significantly affect the baseline signals. On the contrary, in PORH, accounting for the COI resulted in significant differences in the RP of the endothelial NO-independent (p = 0.0005; Wilcoxon signed-rank test), endothelial NO-dependent (p = 0.0005), neurogenic (p = 0.0038), myogenic (p = 0.001), respiratory (p = 0.0002), and cardiac frequency bands (p = 0.0002). The results suggest that applying the COI correction to the WA results obtained from the LD signals is desirable, especially for transient signals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Insights into the Cardiovascular System: From Analytical Approach to Application)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop