Evaluation of stroke volume and ventricular mass in a fetal heart model: a novel four-dimensional echocardiographic analysis.

Aims: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and accuracy of nongated four-dimensional echocardiography (4DE) for determining left ventricular (LV) stroke volume (SV) and mass in a fetal heart-sized LV model.

Methods: A balloon was inserted into the LV of 20 fresh rabbit hearts and attached to a calibrated pulsatile pump. Ten hearts retaining the right ventricle were imaged in Group A.