Volumetric ultrasound system for left ventricle motion imaging

Abstract

An external ultrasound oscillating probe has been developed for the purpose of visualizing dynamically the left cardiac ventricle three-dimensional (3D) movements and deformations. The fundamental principle of this probe is to maintain in continuous oscillation a classical one-dimensional (1D) transducer array around its axis at a maximum oscillation rate of 3 degrees per millisecond. A global medical system, including hardware elements and a software package, has been designed for this application. A motorization set and electronic boards enable this new oscillating probe to be used with any recent echograph equipped with a cardiac module and an external triggering cineloop. Moreover, in order to obtain 3D/4D left ventricle movements from a set of 2D recorded images, a rendering method based on the 2D discrete Fourier transform is applied. Promising preliminary results have been obtained on some patients, and a clinical study on a great number of subjects (both healthy and heart complaint people) was carried out.

Pipeline for the quantification of cardiac strain based on optical flow using 4D ultrasound data

“…Even though most cardiac examination centers still depend on 2D echocardiography, Real-Time ThreeDimensional (or RT3D, 4D) echocardiography is becoming increasingly attractive because of its ability to acquire full three-dimensional images of the heart over a full cardiac cycle within a few seconds. The complex 3D wall motion and temporal information contained in these four-dimensional (3D + time) data sequences has the potential to greatly enhance clinical diagnoses of the heart [1]. Unfortunately, 4D quantitative analysis tools are not yet widely available.…”

Volume measurements in nuclear medicine gated SPECT and 4D echocardiography: validation using a dynamic cardiac phantom

“…Threedimensional echocardiography, either 'real-time' with 2D array scan-heads [11], or 'reconstructed' by overlapping numerous cardiac cycles, seems promising [12][13], but suffers from high costs and approximations. We have developed a new fourdimensional (4D) method, which reconstructs the left ventricle using data acquired during a single cardiac cycle with a rotating trans-thoracic ultrasound scan-head [14]. The quantification with a phantom is of great interest to validate this new ultrasound technique, before comparing results with those obtained on patients in gated SPECT.…”

Region-Based Endocardium Tracking on Real-Time Three-Dimensional Ultrasound

“…Although 2D transducers can be configured to assemble a 3D image from a series of planar views, for truly real-time acquisition, only matrix phased array transducers can scan true three-dimensional volumes with stationary transducers (Ramm and Smith 1990). There are few alternative technologies which also enable real-time acquisition based on vibrating or fast rotating transducers (Canals, Lamarque 1999, Voormolen, Krenning 2006). Real-time 3D ultrasound technology is an improvement over former generations of 3D systems because volumetric data can be acquired rapidly (20–25 frames per second), enabling cardiologists to visualize moving cardiac structures from any given plane in real-time.…”