Tissue Tracking Technology for Assessing Cardiac Mechanics: Principles, Normal Values, and Clinical Applications

Tissue tracking technologies such as speckle tracking echocardiography and feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance have enhanced the noninvasive assessment of myocardial deformation in clinical research and clinical practice. The widespread enthusiasm for using tissue tracking techniques in research and clinical practice stems from the ready applicability of these technologies to routine echocardiographic or cardiac magnetic resonance images. The technology is common to both modalities, and derived parameters to describe myocardial mechanics are the similar, albeit with different accuracies. We provide an overview of the normal values and reproducibility of the clinically applicable parameters, together with their clinical validation. The use of these technologies in different clinical scenarios, and the additive value to current imaging diagnostics are discussed.