Ultrasound in medicine & biology
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Ultrasound Med Biol · Oct 2007
Comparative StudyHow many planes are required to get an accurate and timesaving measurement of left ventricular volume and function by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography in acute myocardial infarction?
To derive the optimal cutting planes of real-time 3-D echocardiography (RT-3DE) for measuring left ventricular volume and ejection fraction (EF) in the presence of left ventricular regional wall motion abnormalities, 14 open-chest dogs were studied with RT-3DE full volume imaging and 2-D echocardiography (2DE) after left anterior descending coronary arteries were occluded for 90 min. Left ventricular end diastolic volume (EDV), end systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV) and EF were measured off-line with 2DE and RT-3DE (2-, 4- and 8-plane) methods. The autopsy EDV was estimated by the volume of saline solution injected into the excised heart and served as the reference volume (RefV) for comparison with EDV measured by 2DE and RT-3DE. ⋯ In contrast, EDV measured by 2DE and RT-3DE (2-plane) methods underestimated RefV significantly (p < 0.01). In conclusion, RT-3DE allows reliable and reproducible measurement of left ventricular volume and EF, even in the presence of left ventricular regional wall motion abnormalities. RT-3DE (4-plane) is the method of choice for an accurate and timesaving quantification of left ventricular volume and function.