Echo (ECG) 3D Improvements

[tobagotwo]

Echocardiography is now entering a new phase of 3D accuracy, thanks to the Doppler effect used so (semi-) effectively in weather forecasting. Far from the 2D, flickering images we have all become accustomed to, the 3D echocardiography units are producing startlingly accurate pictures of heart valves.

Excerpted from HeartWire http://www.theheart.org/viewArticle.do?primaryKey=433619&nl_id=tho29apr05

Three-dimensional echo with a fourth dimension: Real time
Apr 27, 2005 Susan Jeffrey

...This development, say those in the echo field, is expected to have a great impact on an increasing variety of clinical areas, including the assessment and management of valvular and congenital heart disease and in estimating cardiac volumes and left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony, in the spotlight now since the advent of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for the growing population of patients with congestive heart failure...
..."There are many studies showing that this new technology, compared with MRI, does exceedingly well in the calculation of volumes, ejection fraction, and left ventricular mass of the heart," [Dr. Robert] Lang told heartwire. Several papers, including one from his own group,[1] have now validated this comparison, he said.
... The technology is also particularly suited to imaging the right ventricle, [Dr. Linda] Gillam added, "a geometrically complicated chamber of the heart that has been relatively poorly evaluated with two-dimensional methods."
...Another area where real-time three-dimensional echo is of great interest is in visualization of heart valves, particularly the mitral valve. The main advantage of three-dimensional images in this application is they allow spatial orientation of structures and their relationship to each other, Lang said.
Basically, it can give a surgical view, he adds, providing surgeons planning to repair a valve with images very similar to what they will see at the time of surgery. It can also accurately measure the size of the orifice of certain valves, particularly the mitral valve, he added. In mitral valve stenosis, it has now been shown that real-time 3D echo is more accurate than other noninvasive modalities in measuring the mitral valve area, he said.

This is now the most accurate method for measuring and visualizing the heart chambers and valve structures, surpassing MRA and TEE. Goodbye, TEE!

Three manufacturers either now have or are developing 3D ECG units. There are apparently a number of units already across the country, including Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Galveston, as well as internationally, including Madrid and Tokyo.

The article is much longer and has excellent pictures. There are also 3D videos to view. The 3D echo pictures are startlingly close to actual photos taken at the time of surgery, and the videos are amazing. You would need to register with the site (theheart.org) in order to read the rest of the article and view the multimedia attachments.

Best wishes,

 

[Nan]

Thanks Bob for that info! That is great news! What a super diagnostic tool this new 3D echo will be! Hope we get one in upstate NY soon!