Right ventricular three-dimensional echocardiography: the current status and future perspectives.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Echocardiography

Background:

• The right ventricle (RV) plays a crucial role in cardiac function.
• Accurate assessment of RV anatomy and function is clinically significant.
• Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) offers advanced visualization of cardiac structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of right ventricular (RV) three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE).
• To discuss the current status, techniques, and future directions of RV3DE.
• To highlight the clinical utility and imaging advancements in RV assessment.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on RV three-dimensional echocardiography.
• Discussion of RV3DE image acquisition techniques and potential pitfalls.
• Analysis of the reliability and feasibility of RV volume and ejection fraction measurements.
• Exploration of novel techniques for RV imaging and shape assessment.

Main Results:

• RV3DE is a valuable tool for assessing RV anatomy and function.
• Established reliability and feasibility of RV volume and ejection fraction measurements using 3DE.
• Identified techniques to mitigate common imaging challenges like dropout images.
• Introduced advancements in RV speckle tracking and novel shape analysis.

Conclusions:

• RV3DE has evolved significantly, offering robust methods for RV assessment.
• Ongoing technical developments continue to enhance the capabilities of RV3DE.
• This review provides essential information for clinicians and researchers utilizing RV3DE.