How do I get an optimal image?

Trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) is fast becoming an indispensable monitoring and diagnostic modality in cardiac operation rooms. Its convenience and dependability in making important and crucial decisions intra-operatively, during cardiac operative procedures, makes it one of the most useful weapons in a cardiac anesthesiologist's armory. But to make reliable inferences based on intra-operative TEE, creation and development of a proper image is one of the fundamental requirements. The image quality can be affected by factors like patient anatomy, quality of the ultrasound system, and skill of the echocardiographer. Since the first two cannot be changed, in most of cases, we will have to work on the third factor to optimize image quality. A working knowledge of the physics of ultrasound imaging and a sufficient familiarity with the various knobs and controls on the machine will go a long way in helping one acquire an optimum image.