Arterial stenosis stemming from vibration-altered wall shear stress: a way to prevent vibration-induced vascular risk?

Publication

Vibration dose assessed by current standards is likely to be poorly suited to protecting workers against vibration white finger (VWF). Therefore, we intended for a two-step approach to better tackle vibration-induced pathophysiological vascular issues. In the first stage, a log2 linear regression law between the amplitude of vibration acceleration and the wall shear stress (WSS) drop was established. Then, in a second stage, we set up a mechano-biological model for computing the arterial stenosis stemming from the WSS decrease and encountered in patients suffering from VWF. Our findings highlighted a stenosis of about 30% when exposed for 10 years to a 40-m.s-2-amplitude vibration for 4 hours a day.