Quantitative texture analysis in two-dimensional echocardiography: application to the diagnosis of experimental myocardial contusion.

Abstract

We postulated that the analysis of regional image texture in two-dimensional (2D) echocardiograms would be an accurate method to differentiate normal from abnormal myocardial structure. We tested this hypothesis with quantitative texture measures to study the regional, spatial distribution of echo amplitudes in 2D echocardiograms performed before and immediately after blunt left chest trauma was induced in six anesthetized dogs. After trauma the contused region of myocardium appeared brighter and exhibited an altered myocardial texture. By use of a set quantitative texture measures, we found no significant differences in pretrauma images when normal regions were compared with regions to be contused. Also, we found no difference when we compared the normal regions in each animal in pretrauma vs posttrauma images. Twelve measures, however, differentiated normal from contused regions within the posttrauma images (p values ranged from .0057 to .0001 by multivariate analysis of variance). These texture measures were capable of differentiating normal from abnormal tissue only when texture along the azimuthal (lateral) direction was calculated. We conclude that regions of myocardial contusion exhibit visibly altered local echo-amplitude patterns (altered image texture) and that these image texture alterations may be quantified with digital image analysis techniques. These findings suggest that quantitative texture calculations may be a useful approach to ultrasound tissue characterization.

Quantitative Texture Analysis and Transesophageal Echocardiography to Characterize the Acute Myocardial Contusion

“…The TA was used on echographic images to accurately identify ischemic and contused myocardium in animal models [10,11,15]. It has also been applied to identifying amyloid [14], hypertrophic cardiomyopathies [17], myocarditis [18] and myocardial ischemia [19] or viable myocardium [20].…”

“…Myocardial contusion is characterized on microscopical examination, by focal hemorrhages with hematoma formation, as well as myofibrillar fragmentation in the wall of the heart [10,11,12]. The interface between the area of normal and contused tissue due to the variation of the echo reflective which increase the brightness of the ultrasound reflection [10].…”

Functional Imaging: CT and MRI

“…: mean, variance, frequency histogram) or textural measures (autocorrelation, cooccurrence matrices, run-length matrices, etc.) (46,47,55,57,(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74). Lung tissue can be objectively evaluated using the attenuation of lung tissue, either as mean lung attenuation, or by measuring the attenuation of lung falling below a set value (the density mask) (46,47,55,57,73).…”

Ultrasonic myocardial textural parameters and midwall left ventricular mechanics in essential arterial hypertension

“…Several studies have pointed out that, despite a normal or supernormal conventional fractional shortening, the midwall left ventricular mechanic is impaired. 3,4 Moreover, a quantitative analysis of the 'texture' of the echocardiographic images, 5,6 represents a useful approach which allows the use of the ultrasound myocardial tissue characterisation (quantitative texture analysis) in this and in other 7 fields of interest. Previously our studies have shown that several myocardial textural videodensitometric parameters are impaired in essential hypertensive patients.…”