[The usefulness of range-gated pulsed Doppler echocardiography. A review (author's transl)]

Single-crystal RGPD Echocardiography has clearly become a useful noninvasive ultrasonic method which enlarges the capabilities of investigating the heart. Recording of flow direction and showing disturbed flow allows additional clarification and confirmation of various diagnoses. This single-crystal technique does not allow flow quantification at the present time. The TIH and auditory signal displays of Doppler shift as presently utilized in commercial devices allow qualitative observation but require much experience in test performance and evaluation. The future here is probably in the area of spectral analysis. Present instrumentation employs M-mode echo for Doppler sample localization. Drawbacks include inprecise sample beam localization and non-variable sample volume size. Further, standardization of the Doppler signal is necessary. Combination with 2-D echo in the future will allow more precise sample beam localization and accuracy in flow quantification. The latter area has particular promise and is under investigation but is not yet commercially available.