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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Transthoracic Speckle Tracking Echocardiography for the Quantitative Assessment of Left Ventricular Myocardial Deformation
09:05

Transthoracic Speckle Tracking Echocardiography for the Quantitative Assessment of Left Ventricular Myocardial Deformation

Published on: October 20, 2016

Role of Contrast Echocardiography for the Assessment of Left Ventricular Function

Roxy Senior1

  • 1Cardiology Department, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3UJ, United Kingdom.

Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
|February 15, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Ultrasound contrast agents significantly improve the visualization of the left ventricle endocardial border during echocardiography. This enhances the accuracy of assessing left ventricular function and reduces the need for additional costly imaging tests.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Ultrasound Technology

Background:

  • Incomplete identification of the left ventricle endocardial border during echocardiography affects at least 30% of patients.
  • This limitation can lead to inaccurate assessments of left ventricular function and necessitate further, more expensive diagnostic imaging.
  • Accurate endocardial border definition is crucial for reliable evaluation of cardiac performance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of second-generation ultrasound contrast agents in improving endocardial border detection in echocardiography.
  • To assess the impact of contrast-enhanced echocardiography on the accuracy of left ventricular function assessment.
  • To compare contrast-enhanced harmonic imaging with unenhanced harmonic imaging for left ventricular function evaluation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized second-generation ultrasound contrast agents, specifically SonoVuetrade mark, in clinical trials involving 702 patients.
  • Conducted rest and stress echocardiography with and without contrast enhancement.
  • Compared accuracy of left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes determination using contrast agents versus standard imaging.

Main Results:

  • Contrast agents consistently improved endocardial border detection during fundamental echocardiography at rest and during stress.
  • Studies involving SonoVuetrade mark demonstrated improved accuracy in determining left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes.
  • Contrast-enhanced harmonic imaging showed potential for greater accuracy than unenhanced imaging, though further research is needed.

Conclusions:

  • Second-generation ultrasound contrast agents enhance endocardial border visualization in echocardiography, improving diagnostic accuracy.
  • Contrast-enhanced echocardiography offers a more reliable method for assessing left ventricular function compared to unenhanced imaging.
  • Further large-scale clinical studies are warranted to fully establish the value of harmonic contrast imaging in left ventricular function assessment.

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