Myocardial strain assessment by cine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging using non-rigid registration.

Aims: To evaluate a novel post-processing method for assessment of longitudinal mid-myocardial strain in standard cine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging sequences.

Methods And Results: Cine CMR imaging and tagged cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (TMRI) were performed in 15 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 15 healthy volunteers served as control group. A second group of 37 post-AMI patients underwent both cine CMR and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) CMR exams.

Automatic segmentation of cardiac MRI cines validated for long axis views.

Segmentation of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is considered an important application in clinical practice. An automatic algorithm is proposed for segmentation of both endocardial and epicardial boundaries, in long-axis views. The data consisted of 126 patients, yielding 1008 traces.

Use of an automatic application for wall motion classification based on longitudinal strain: is it affected by operator expertise in echocardiography? A multicentre study by the Israeli Echocardiography Research Group.

Aims: Assessing the quality of wall motion (WM) on echocardiograms remains a challenge. Previously, we validated an automated application used by experienced echocardiographers for WM classification based on longitudinal two-dimensional (2D) strain. The aim of this study was to show that the use of this automatic application was independent of the user's experience.

Increase in endocardial rotation during doxorubicin treatment.

Treatment of cardiomyopathy, when detected early, may slow myocardial deterioration and even reverse its course. However, no efficient, noninvasive measure of cardiac function is yet able to detect the early signs of cardiomyopathy. The aim of this study was to determine whether ultrasound speckle tracking analysis is a more sensitive measure of early changes of cardiac function than standard echocardiographic parameters.

Reliability of visual assessment of global and segmental left ventricular function: a multicenter study by the Israeli Echocardiography Research Group.

Background: The purpose of this multicenter study was to determine the reliability of visual assessments of segmental wall motion (WM) abnormalities and global left ventricular function among highly experienced echocardiographers using contemporary echocardiographic technology in patients with a variety of cardiac conditions.

Methods: The reliability of visual determinations of left ventricular WM and global function was calculated from assessments made by 12 experienced echocardiographers on 105 echocardiograms recorded using contemporary echocardiographic equipment. Ten studies were reread independently to determine intraobserver reliability.

A new tool for automatic assessment of segmental wall motion based on longitudinal 2D strain: a multicenter study by the Israeli Echocardiography Research Group.

Background: Identification and quantification of segmental left ventricular wall motion abnormalities on echocardiograms is of paramount clinical importance but is still performed by a subjective visual method. We constructed an automatic tool for assessment of wall motion based on longitudinal strain.

Methods And Results: Echocardiograms of 105 patients (3 apical views) were blindly analyzed by 12 experienced readers.