[Semiautomatic algorithm for tracing an outline of the endocardium in newborns]

Visual assessment of the endocardial outline is too subjective and the results do not provide enough support for reliable analysis. The main problem that hinders echocardiographic diagnosis in measurements of ventricular size and shape during subsequent cycles of cardiac function lies in difficulties in obtaining precise delineation of endocardial margins. A new, semiautomatic algorithm for tracing endocardial outlines of newborns that were detectable in echocardiographic images is presented. The material consisted of 1920 historical echograms of newborns with selected congenital heart defects (total anomalous pulmonary venous return--TAPVR, hypoplastic left heart syndrome--HLHS, and transposition of the great arteries--TGA) and control group. The algorithm was successfully used in the analysis of 384 images of heart chambers (right and left ventricles) of newborns in systole and diastole. The results were subjected to a statistical analysis and revealed that semiautomatic algorithms can give consistent, repeatable, good quality results, and image analysis methods can be an efficient, additional tool for the quantitative interpretation of echocardiograms of the endocardium in newborns.