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Hagendorff A, Kandels J, Metze M, Tayal B, Stöbe S. Valid and Reproducible Quantitative Assessment of Cardiac Volumes by Echocardiography in Patients with Valvular Heart Diseases-Possible or Wishful Thinking? Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:1359. [PMID: 37046577 PMCID: PMC10093440 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13071359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The analysis of left ventricular function is predominantly based on left ventricular volume assessment. Especially in valvular heart diseases, the quantitative assessment of total and effective stroke volumes as well as regurgitant volumes is necessary for a quantitative approach to determine regurgitant volumes and regurgitant fraction. In the literature, there is an ongoing discussion about differences between cardiac volumes estimated by echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance tomography. This viewpoint focuses on the feasibility to assess comparable cardiac volumes with both modalities. The former underestimation of cardiac volumes determined by 2D and 3D echocardiography is presumably explained by methodological and technical limitations. Thus, this viewpoint aims to stimulate an urgent and critical rethinking of the echocardiographic assessment of patients with valvular heart diseases, especially valvular regurgitations, because the actual integrative approach might be too error prone to be continued in this form. It should be replaced or supplemented by a definitive quantitative approach. Valid quantitative assessment by echocardiography is feasible once echocardiography and data analysis are performed with methodological and technical considerations in mind. Unfortunately, implementation of this approach cannot generally be considered for real-world conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Hagendorff
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (J.K.); (M.M.); (S.S.)
| | - Joscha Kandels
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (J.K.); (M.M.); (S.S.)
| | - Michael Metze
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (J.K.); (M.M.); (S.S.)
| | - Bhupendar Tayal
- Harrington Heart and Vascular Center, Department of Cardiology, University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
| | - Stephan Stöbe
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (J.K.); (M.M.); (S.S.)
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Dual SA, Zimmermann JM, Neuenschwander J, Cohrs NH, Solowjowa N, Stark WJ, Meboldt M, Schmid Daners M. Ultrasonic sensor concept to fit a ventricular assist device cannula evaluated using geometrically accurate heart phantoms. Artif Organs 2018; 43:467-477. [PMID: 30357874 DOI: 10.1111/aor.13379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Future left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are expected to respond to the physiologic need of patients; however, they still lack reliable pressure or volume sensors for feedback control. In the clinic, echocardiography systems are routinely used to measure left ventricular (LV) volume. Until now, echocardiography in this form was never integrated in LVADs due to its computational complexity. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the applicability of a simplified ultrasonic sensor to fit an LVAD cannula and to show the achievable accuracy in vitro. Our approach requires only two ultrasonic transducers because we estimated the LV volume with the LV end-diastolic diameter commonly used in clinical assessments. In order to optimize the accuracy, we assessed the optimal design parameters considering over 50 orientations of the two ultrasonic transducers. A test bench was equipped with five talcum-infused silicone heart phantoms, in which the intra-ventricular surface replicated papillary muscles and trabeculae carnae. The end-diastolic LV filling volumes of the five heart phantoms ranged from 180 to 480 mL. This reference volume was altered by ±40 mL with a syringe pump. Based on the calibrated measurements acquired by the two ultrasonic transducers, the LV volume was estimated well. However, the accuracies obtained are strongly dependent on the choice of the design parameters. Orientations toward the septum perform better, as they interfere less with the papillary muscles. The optimized design is valid for all hearts. Considering this, the Bland-Altman analysis reports the LV volume accuracy as a bias of ±10% and limits of agreement of 0%-40% in all but the smallest heart. The simplicity of traditional echocardiography systems was reduced by two orders of magnitude in technical complexity, while achieving a comparable accuracy to 2D echocardiography requiring a calibration of absolute volume only. Hence, our approach exploits the established benefits of echocardiography and makes them applicable as an LV volume sensor for LVADs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seraina Anne Dual
- Product Development Group Zurich, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Michael Zimmermann
- Product Development Group Zurich, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürg Neuenschwander
- Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Nicholas Heinrich Cohrs
- Functional Materials Laboratory, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Natalia Solowjowa
- Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, German Heart Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wendelin Jan Stark
- Functional Materials Laboratory, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mirko Meboldt
- Product Development Group Zurich, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marianne Schmid Daners
- Product Development Group Zurich, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Perperidis A, McDicken N, MacGillivray T, Anderson T. Elevational spatial compounding for enhancing image quality in echocardiography. ULTRASOUND (LEEDS, ENGLAND) 2016; 24:74-85. [PMID: 27274757 PMCID: PMC4874059 DOI: 10.1177/1742271x16632283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 01/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Echocardiography is commonly used in clinical practice for the real-time assessment of cardiac morphology and function. Nevertheless, due to the nature of the data acquisition, cardiac ultrasound images are often corrupted by a range of acoustic artefacts, including acoustic noise, speckle and shadowing. Spatial compounding techniques have long been recognised for their ability to suppress common ultrasound artefacts, enhancing the imaged cardiac structures. However, they require extended acquisition times as well as accurate spatio-temporal alignment of the compounded data. Elevational spatial compounding acquires and compounds adjacent partially decorrelated planes of the same cardiac structure. METHODS This paper employs an anthropomorphic left ventricle phantom to examine the effect of acquisition parameters, such as inter-slice angular displacement and 3D sector angular range, on the elevational spatial compounding of cardiac ultrasound data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Elevational spatial compounding can produce substantial noise and speckle suppression as well as visual enhancement of tissue structures even for small acquisition sector widths (2.5° to 6.5°). In addition, elevational spatial compounding eliminates the need for extended acquisition times as well as the need for temporal alignment of the compounded datasets. However, moderate spatial registration may still be required to reduce any tissue/chamber blurring side effects that may be introduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonios Perperidis
- Institute of Sensors, Signals and Systems, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Norman McDicken
- Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tom MacGillivray
- Clinical Research Imaging Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tom Anderson
- Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Hjertaas JJ, Fosså H, Dybdahl GL, Grüner R, Lunde P, Matre K. Accuracy of real-time single- and multi-beat 3-d speckle tracking echocardiography in vitro. ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY 2013; 39:1006-1014. [PMID: 23562013 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2013.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2012] [Revised: 12/12/2012] [Accepted: 01/16/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
With little data published on the accuracy of cardiac 3-D strain measurements, we investigated the agreement between 3-D echocardiography and sonomicrometry in an in vitro model with a polyvinyl alcohol phantom. A cardiac scanner with a 3-D probe was used to acquire recordings at 15 different stroke volumes at a heart rate of 60 beats/min, and eight different stroke volumes at a heart rate of 120 beats/min. Sonomicrometry was used as a reference, monitoring longitudinal, circumferential and radial lengths. Both single- and multi-beat acquisitions were recorded. Strain values were compared with sonomicrometer strain using linear correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis. Multi-beat acquisition showed good agreement, whereas real-time images showed less agreement. The best correlation was obtained for a heart rate 60 of beats/min at a volume rate 36.6 volumes/s.
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Fortune S, Jansen MA, Anderson T, Gray GA, Schneider JE, Hoskins PR, Marshall I. Development and characterization of rodent cardiac phantoms: comparison with in vivo cardiac imaging. Magn Reson Imaging 2012; 30:1186-91. [PMID: 22770689 PMCID: PMC3471072 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2012.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2012] [Accepted: 04/01/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The increasing availability of rodent models of human cardiovascular disease has led to a need to translate noninvasive imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from the clinic to the animal laboratory. The aim of this study was to develop phantoms simulating the short-axis view of left ventricular motion of rats and mice, thus reducing the need for live animals in the development of MRI. Cylindrical phantoms were moulded from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) Cryogel and attached via stiff water-filled tubing to a gear pump. Pulsatile distension of the phantoms was effected by suitable programming of the pump. Cine MRI scanning was carried out at 7 T and compared with in vivo rodent cardiac imaging. Suitable pulsatile performance was achieved with phantoms for which the PVA material had been subjected to two freeze–thaw cycles, resulting in T1 and T2 relaxation time constants of 1656±124 ms and 55±10 ms, respectively. For the rat phantom operating at 240 beats per min (bpm), the dynamic range of the outer diameter was from 10.3 to 12.4 mm with the wall thickness varying between 1.9 and 1.2 mm. Corresponding figures for the mouse phantom at 480 bpm were outer diameter range from 5.4 to 6.4 mm and wall thickness from 1.5 to 1.2 mm. Dynamic cardiac phantoms simulating rodent left ventricular motion in the short-axis view were successfully developed and compared with in vivo imaging. The phantoms can be used for future development work with reduced need of live animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Fortune
- Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh
| | - Maurits A. Jansen
- Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh
- University and British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh
| | - Tom Anderson
- Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh
- University and British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh
| | - Gillian A. Gray
- University and British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh
| | - Jürgen E. Schneider
- British Heart Foundation Experimental MR Unit, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Oxford
| | - Peter R. Hoskins
- Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh
- University and British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh
| | - Ian Marshall
- Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh
- University and British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh
- Corresponding author. Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
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Voormolen MM, Krenning BJ, Lancée CT, ten Cate FJ, Roelandt JRTC, van der Steen AFW, de Jong N. Harmonic 3-D echocardiography with a fast-rotating ultrasound transducer. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS, FERROELECTRICS, AND FREQUENCY CONTROL 2006; 53:1739-48. [PMID: 17036783 DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2006.107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Although the advantages of three-dimensional (3-D) echocardiography have been acknowledged, its application for routine diagnosis is still very limited. This is mainly due to the relatively long acquisition time. Only recently has this problem been addressed with the introduction of new real-time 3-D echo systems. This paper describes the design, characteristics, and capabilities of an alternative concept for rapid 3-D echocardiographic recordings. The presented fast-rotating ultrasound (FRU)-transducer is based on a 64-element phased array that rotates with a maximum speed of 8 Hz (480 rpm). The large bandwidth of the FRU-transducer makes it highly suitable for tissue and contrast harmonic imaging. The transducer presents itself as a conventional phased-array transducer; therefore, it is easily implemented on existing 2-D echo systems, without additional interfacing. The capabilities of the FRU-transducer are illustrated with in-vitro volume measurements, harmonic imaging in combination with a contrast agent, and a preliminary clinical study.
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Abstract
Ultrasonography allows providers to noninvasively image an area of interest in real time without the risks of ionizing radiation or nephrotoxic contrast agents. This article present basic concepts of ultrasound along with new advances in ultrasound technology and their applications in small parts evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric A Singer
- University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 648, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
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