[Angiographic frame-by-frame computerized evaluation of overall and regional left ventricular wall motion (author's...

This paper describes a semi-automated quantitative method to evaluate left ventricular overall and regional wall motion. Left ventricular (LV) outlines are digitized on a frame-by-frame basis using a sonic graf/pen interfaced with a 9845 HP minicomputer. A high fidelity simultaneous LV pressure recording is also digitized. The overall myocardial pump and muscle function are expressed by the projections of the pressure-volume-flow and of the mid-wall equatorial stress-length-velocity relationships. The dynamic regional wall motion is quantitated using a radial coordinate method. The centers of mass of serial frames are superimposed, and the apical anti-clockwise rotation is corrected. The regional wall motion (RWM) and the rate of change of the RWM are calculated with this method, and the results plotted as a single hard copy output. This method permits evaluation of the effect of segmental wall dysfunction on total cardiac performance during different portions of the cardiac cycle. The relationships between the time course of LV pressure and stress and the dynamic RWM can also be studied in subjects with segmental contraction abnormalities.