The Remarkable 50 Years of Imaging in HCM and How it Has Changed Diagnosis and Management: From M-Mode Echocardiography to CMR.

The almost 50-year odyssey of cardiac imaging in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), revisited and described here, has been remarkable, particularly when viewed in the timeline of advances that occurred during a single generation of investigators. At each step along the way, from M-mode to 2-dimensional echocardiography to Doppler imaging, and finally over the last 10 years with the emergence of high-resolution tomographic cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), evolution of the images generated by each new technology constituted a paradigm change over what was previously available. Together, these advances have transformed the noninvasive diagnosis and management of HCM in a number of important clinical respects. These changes include a more complete definition of the phenotype, resulting in more reliable clinical identification of patients and family members, defining mechanisms (and magnitude) of left ventricular outflow obstruction, and novel myocardial tissue characterization (including in vivo detection of fibrosis/scarring); notably, these advances afford more precise recognition of at-risk patients who are potential candidates for life-saving primary prevention defibrillator therapy. This evolution in imaging as applied to HCM has indelibly changed cardiovascular practice for this morphologically and clinically complex genetic disease.

Perioperative transoesophageal echocardiography: current status and future directions.

Transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) is used in the perioperative arena to monitor patients during life-threatening emergencies, cardiac and high-risk non-cardiac surgeries. It provides qualitative and quantitative information on valvular and ventricular functions, and dynamic cardiac anatomy can be displayed with a physiological perspective. This technology has evolved from two-dimensional (2D) to the ready availability of real-time three-dimensional (RT-3D) imaging in the operating rooms. Enhanced spatial and temporal resolutions with 3D imaging have most significantly impacted the quality of intraoperative surgical valve repair and replacement decisions. Additionally, 3D imaging has facilitated the advent of minimally invasive and percutaneous interventions for structural heart disease. Information derived from TEE is routinely used to evaluate a patient's suitability for an intervention, provide guidance during the intervention and eventually comment on the quality and success of the procedure. Expertise in perioperative TEE is an integral component of a cardiac anaesthesiologist's skill sets. With structural heart disease interventions becoming more minimally invasive, the intraoperative guidance provided by TEE will continue to be a critical component of these procedures. With improving computational and processing power, the expectations from TEE will continue to be incremental in the perioperative arena.

Clinical utility of three-dimensional echocardiography for the evaluation of ventricular function.

The evaluation of ventricular function is a core component of 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE). Given the known limitations of 2DE, a more accurate assessment of ventricular function has long been desired. Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) holds promise to fulfill this role while still maintaining the same benefits of low cost, portability, and efficiency of 2DE. Although 3DE has been investigated for over 30 years, the technology has seen little use in the modern clinical echocardiography lab. Although the benefit provided by the additional dimension of 2DE over M-Mode was immediately apparent, the clinical advantages of 3DE over 2DE have been difficult to appreciate. Several reasons for the lack of adoption include the learning curve, concerns about workflow, skepticism about clinical validity, and perceptions that the technology is too unrefined. Nonetheless, the past 2 decades have seen tremendous technical improvements in the field and a wealth of clinically applicable research. In particular, 3DE now has an established role in evaluating left ventricular systolic function. This review highlights the clinical relevancy of 3DE in evaluating ventricular function in terms of the history, relevant data, advantages, and the limitations of current generation 3DE.

Mitral valve prolapse: role of 3D echocardiography in diagnosis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the utility and the latest developments in three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography of mitral valve prolapse. RECENT FINDINGS: Although 3D echocardiography was invented in 1974, it did not gain wide clinical acceptance until the introduction of real-time 3D echocardiography in the first decade of the 21st century. Driven by improvements in probe technology and increases in computing power, 3D echocardiography now provides unprecedented images of mitral valve prolapse and its associated mitral regurgitation with no or minimal requirements for image post processing. SUMMARY: 3D echocardiography has become the echocardiographic modality of choice for establishing the diagnosis, describing the precise anatomy, and visualization of mitral regurgitant jets in mitral valve prolapse. 3D echocardiography is becoming indispensable in guiding surgical and percutaneous methods of mitral valve repair and replacement.

Three-dimensional echocardiography of colour Doppler flow.

Three-dimensional echocardiography of colour Doppler flow developed quickly with the advent of three-dimensional echocardiography. An increasing amount of research has shown that three-dimensional echocardiography of colour Doppler flow is feasible and facilitates measurement of stroke volume and cardiac output, and assessment of heart valve and congenital heart diseases. Although the technique still has some drawbacks that hamper its widespread use, as the technology continues to improve, three-dimensional echocardiography of colour Doppler flow has the potential to serve as a powerful noninvasive clinical tool, aiding physicians in the serial assessment of heart disease and response to intervention. We review the developmental history and the most recent clinical information related to three-dimensional echocardiography of colour Doppler flow.

Three-dimensional echocardiography: an historical perspective.

Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) has made a dramatic transition from predominantly a research tool to a technology useful in everyday clinical practice. This article outlines the history of 3DE from its beginnings to the most current technology.

History of echocardiography and its future applications in medicine.

This review concisely presents the chronology of events that shaped the development of echocardiography. The concept of "seeing" structures using "sound" dates back to the 1920s, when ultrasound produced by piezoelectric crystals was used to detect flaws in metals. In the early 1950s, Hertz and Edler described the use of ultrasound for assessing mitral-valve disease. Subsequently, Harvey Feigenbaum in the 1960s standardized the clinical use of M-mode echocardiography for quantitative assessment of left-ventricular dimensions. The advent of 2-dimensional echocardiography (1970s), pulsed Doppler (1970s), and color Doppler (1980s) introduced new methods for routine assessment of cardiac anatomy and hemodynamics at bedside. Flexible scopes and superior transducers further paved the way to the application of transesophageal echocardiography. Tissue Doppler and contrast echocardiography recently have emerged as important tools for evaluation of regional myocardial function and blood flow. Miniaturization and the ability to pack thousands of crystals in an electronic array have transformed the application of 3-dimensional echocardiography into a bedside tomographic tool. At the current pace of development, echocardiography will be able to provide complete assessment of the heart in terms of its anatomy, coronary flow, and physiology. Training people and making it available at every bedside may be the only remaining challenges.

Ecocardiografia tridimensional: Está a modalidade pronta para aplicações clínicas / Tridimensional echocardiography: Is it ready for clinical applications

Os autores descrevem o desenvolvimento da ecocardiografia tridimensional, suas aplicações e o seu papel dentro do contexto clínico. A ecocardiografia tridimensional foi inicialmente desenvolvida na década de 70, tendo passado por modificações em decorência da evolução tecnológica dos equipamentos de ultra-som, e principalemte da informática aplicada à medicina. Atualmente, a ecocardiografia tridimensional é modalidade ecocariográfica em validação com outros métodos de investigação diagnóstica por imagem, como a ressonância magnética nuclear. Apresenta indicações na mensuração de volumes e massa do ventrículo esquerdo, assim como na análise morfológica e funcional do ventrículo esquerdo pela aferição da fração de ejeção, do índice de dissincronia ventricular e do índice de esferidade tridimensional. Possibilita ainda a análise estrutural cardíaca a partir de novos planos espaciais de investigação anatômica, podendo ser especialmente útil para a correção de cardiopatias congênitas e na indicação da terapia de ressincronização cardíaca em pacientes portadores de insuficiência cardíaca avançada.