Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility for radial, circumferential and longitudinal strain echocardiography

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Strain echocardiography (StE) is an emerging technique for quantitative cardiac function assessment.
• Evaluating the reliability of novel diagnostic tools is crucial for clinical integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the intra- and interobserver reliability of segmental strain echocardiography (StE).
• Determine the reproducibility of radial (RS), circumferential (CS), and longitudinal strain (LS) measurements.

Main Methods:

• Left ventricular strain analysis (RS, CS, LS) was performed in 21 healthy volunteers.
• Measurements were taken using parasternal short axis and apical views.
• Quantitative analysis was conducted on an off-line workstation.

Main Results:

• Longitudinal strain (LS) in the 4-chamber view exhibited the highest intraobserver reproducibility (9 ± 13.6%).
• Interobserver analysis showed LS from the 3-chamber view had the lowest deviation (11.9 ± 9.5%).
• Radial strain (RS) consistently showed lower reproducibility for both intra- and interobserver assessments.

Conclusions:

• The clinical utility of StE is influenced by regional cardiac wall motion and image quality.
• Longitudinal strain (LS) offers promising reproducibility for both intra- and interobserver evaluations.
• LS is recommended for quantitative follow-up studies due to its superior reliability.