[New imaging methods in the diagnosis of mitral regurgitation]

Conventional Doppler echocardiographic methods still are limited when being used for evaluation of morphology and function of a regurgitant mitral valve. Methods based on two-dimensional image planes may be insufficient to demonstrate exact spatial localization of pathologic structures due to the need for mental reconstruction of the three-dimensional valve anatomy by the examiner. The determination of severity of mitral regurgitation is based either on the estimation of regurgitation jet size or on geometric assumptions on its shape which often are not correct and reduce the accuracy of the method.New echocardiographic techniques such as 3-D echocardiography provide a comprehensive visualization and assessment of valvular pathomorphology which especially in complex situations will increase sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy when compared to conventional methods. The combination of 3-D echo with three-dimensional Doppler data will allow an even more reliable and precise determination of lesion severity. Other imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging will be a promising alternative due to their three-dimensional data acquisition and the enormous potential for the measurement of intracardiac flow.