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Determination of left ventricular ejection fraction using intravenous contrast and a semiautomated border detection
Eric H c Yu1, Danny M Skyba, Cairrine E Sloggett
1Gordon Yu Hoi Chiu Echocardiographic Laboratory, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Summary
A new semiautomated method accurately determines left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in difficult-to-image patients. This approach shows good agreement with manual tracing and radionuclide angiography, offering a faster clinical alternative.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Echocardiography
Background:
- Manual Simpson's method (MANUAL SIMP) accurately assesses left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
- Intravenous contrast and MANUAL SIMP improve LVEF accuracy in challenging imaging scenarios.
- MANUAL SIMP is time-consuming and difficult for routine clinical use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively evaluate the accuracy of a semiautomated endocardial border detection algorithm with intravenous contrast for LVEF determination.
- To compare the semiautomated method's accuracy against MANUAL SIMP and radionuclide angiography in patients with suboptimal echocardiographic images.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 51 patients with suboptimal echocardiographic images.
- LVEF calculation using a semiautomated algorithm with intravenous contrast.
- Comparison with contrast-enhanced MANUAL SIMP and radionuclide angiography (standard of comparison).
Main Results:
- Good agreement was demonstrated between LVEF values obtained by the semiautomated method and MANUAL SIMP.
- The semiautomated method showed good agreement with radionuclide angiography.
- This suggests the semiautomated approach is a reliable alternative for LVEF assessment.
Conclusions:
- Semiautomated endocardial border detection with intravenous contrast provides accurate LVEF determination in patients with suboptimal images.
- This method offers a viable, potentially more efficient alternative to MANUAL SIMP for routine clinical practice.
- Further validation may support its widespread adoption in echocardiographic LVEF assessment.