Copyright © 2005, The European Society of Cardiology
Tissue harmonic imaging for standard left ventricular measurements: Fundamentally flawed?
Cardiology Department, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, UK
Received 31 January 2005; received in revised form 12 August 2005; accepted after revision 20 August 2005.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 2073464392; fax: +44 2073463489. stuart.turner{at}adelaide.edu.au
| Abstract |
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Tissue harmonic imaging (THI) is a B mode imaging technique that improves echocardiographic image quality by reducing superficial artefact. The modality increases image signal-to-noise ratio at the expense of reduced axial resolution.
While the qualitative improvements of harmonic echocardiographic imaging are widely accepted, the degree to which this is translated into improved quantitative measurements and whether THI-derived measurements result in systematic bias continue to be areas of uncertainty. This review examines differences between THI and fundamental imaging-derived measurements from a theoretical, tissue phantom and clinical perspective.
Keywords: THI; tissue harmonic imaging; FI; fundamental imaging; SPL; spatial pulse length; SNR; signal-to-noise ratio; EF; ejection fraction; LE; leading edge; TR; trailing edge; ASE; American Society of Echocardiography; LV; left ventricle; 2D; 2 dimensional