Analysis of myocardial perfusion or myocardial function for detection of regional myocardial abnormalities. An echocardiographic multicenter comparison study using myocardial contrast echocardiography and 2D echocardiography

Abstract

MCE is inferior to contrast enhanced 2D echocardiography with regard to visibility of all LV segments and appears slightly inferior with regards to IOA, while both are superior to unenhanced 2D echocardiography. The methods demonstrated high accuracy in detection of panel defined regional myocardial abnormalities.

Diagnostik und Risikostratifikation der koronaren Herzkrankheit (KHK): Aktuelle Bedeutung der Stressechokardiographie

“…Der Einsatz von harmonischen Oberfrequenzen ("second harmonic imaging" und "tissue harmonic imaging") hat seit Ende der 1990er Jahre zu einer deutlichen Verbesserung der diagnostischen Bildqualität geführt, die in den vergangenen 6 Jahren durch den Einsatz von Linksherzkontrastmitteln zur Verbesserung der linksventrikulären Wandabgrenzung und zur Erlangung ergänzender Perfusionsinformationen mit niedrigen Schallkopfenergien ("low mechanical index imaging") weiter gesteigert werden konnte [8,9,11,14,17,18]. [13].…”

“…Die Kontrastmittel verringern die Zahl nicht oder eingeschränkt diagnostisch verwertbarer Segmente, verbessern die Erkennung der Myokardkontur und verringern sowohl in der globalen als auch in der regionalen Funktionsbeurteilung des linken Ventrikels die Test-zu-Test-wie auch die Inter-Observer-Variabilität [17,18] …”

Contrast Echocardiography in Coronary Artery Disease

“…Similarly, during stress echocardiography, adding ultrasound contrast allows a complete evaluation of wall motion in all myocardial regions in almost every patient (Hoffmann et al, 2007). In a study of 632 patients with poor acoustic windows, adding ultrasound contrast not only avoided the need of further expensive and time consuming examinations but also had direct impact on patient's treatment (Kurt et al, 2009).…”

Diagnostic Value of Parametric Imaging of Left Ventricular Wall Motion From Contrast-Enhanced Echocardiograms in Patients With Poor Acoustic Windows

“…1 Besides, the echocardiographic assessment of RWM can be even more challenging in patients with poor acoustic windows, in whom contrast agents are frequently used to enhance endocardial visualization and thus improve diagnosis accuracy. 2 However, in these patients, both the accuracy and the reproducibility of interpretation remain far from optimal, even with contrast enhancement. 1 We have previously developed a technique for the parametric imaging of endocardial motion, 3,4 which generates from dynamic images of the heart obtained over a single cardiac cycle color-coded parametric images that provide a simplified, still-frame display of spatial and temporal information on RWM.…”

“…Because contrast enhancement in these patients improves endocardial visualization, it is likely to also improve the quality of parametric images and thus provide diagnostic information in patients whose images are otherwise difficult to interpret. Accordingly, the aims of this study were (1) to test whether contrast-enhanced still-frame parametric images accurately represent the amplitude and timing of RWM by comparing them against expert visual interpretations of dynamic contrast-enhanced echocardiograms, (2) to determine whether the addition of these parametric images to dynamic images can improve the diagnostic accuracy of the interpretation of RWM by inexperienced readers, and (3) to test the feasibility of automated quantitative analysis of RWM.…”