Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10691874 | Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology | 2013 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Although real-time 3-D echocardiography has the potential to allow more accurate assessment of global and regional ventricular dynamics compared with more traditional 2-D ultrasound examinations, it still requires rigorous testing and validation should it break through as a standard examination in routine clinical practice. However, only a limited number of studies have validated 3-D strain algorithms in an in vivo experimental setting. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to validate a registration-based strain estimation methodology in an animal model. Volumetric images were acquired in 14 open-chest sheep instrumented with ultrasonic microcrystals. Radial strain (ÉRR), longitudinal strain (ÉLL) and circumferential strain (ÉCC) were estimated during different stages: at rest, during reduced and increased cardiac inotropy induced by esmolol and dobutamine infusion, respectively, and during acute ischemia. Agreement between image-based and microcrystal-based strain estimates was evaluated by their linear correlation, indicating that all strain components could be estimated with acceptable accuracy (r = 0.69 for ÉRR, r = 0.64 for ÉLL and r = 0.62 for ÉCC). These findings are comparable to the performance of the current state-of-the-art commercial 3-D speckle tracking methods. Furthermore, shape of the strain curves, timing of peak values and location of dysfunctional regions were identified well. Whether 3-D elastic registration performs better than 3-D block matching-based methodologies still remains to be proven.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Authors
Brecht Heyde, Stefaan Bouchez, Sabine Thieren, Michael Vandenheuvel, Ruta Jasaityte, Daniel Barbosa, Piet Claus, Frederik Maes, Patrick Wouters, Jan D'hooge,