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European Journal of Echocardiography 2006 7(3):209-216; doi:10.1016/j.euje.2005.06.002
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Copyright © 2005, The European Society of Cardiology

Semi-automatic boundary detection to improve reporting of regional left ventricular function

J. Timperleya,*, A.R.J. Mitchella, D.J. Blackmana, C. Shirodariaa, J. Eichhofera, M. Mulet-Paradab and H. Bechera

aDepartment of Cardiology, The John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
bMirada Solutions Ltd., Oxford, UK

Received 14 January 2005; received in revised form 15 May 2005; accepted after revision 1 June 2005.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1865 741166; fax: +44 1865 220585. jon.timperley{at}orh.nhs.uk


  Abstract

Aims The reporting of regional left ventricular function is based on subjective assessment of endocardial motion and thickening and has a significant learning curve. We hypothesized that the use of an semi-automatic boundary detection system generating images with superimposed moving endocardial borders and a fixed end-diastolic reference border could improve the reporting of regional function.

Methods We obtained 58 resting contrast images of 15 patients and using a new boundary detection system (Quamus®), generated images with superimposed endocardial borders. The contrast images, images with additional Quamus borders and Quamus borders alone were assessed by two level 1 and two level 2 echocardiographers. They scored regional function and results were compared to two level 3 experienced stress echocardiography readers.

Results The addition of borders improved the agreement of level 1 echocardiographers (weighted Kappa increased from 0.55 to 0.64) but did not change for level 2 echocardiographers (0.63 to 0.64) and has the potential to be a useful training tool.

Keywords: Automatic boundary detection; Left ventricular function; Contrast echocardiography


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