Retrospective Ultrasound Doppler Quantification Using a Single Acquisition in Healthy Adults

Annichen Søyland Daae; Morten Smedsrud Wigen; Marlene Iversen Halvorsrød; Lasse Løvstakken; Asbjørn Støylen; Solveig Fadnes

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.04.019

Retrospective Ultrasound Doppler Quantification Using a Single Acquisition in Healthy Adults

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2023 Sep;49(9):1970-1978. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.04.019. Epub 2023 Jun 8.

Authors

Annichen Søyland Daae¹, Morten Smedsrud Wigen², Marlene Iversen Halvorsrød³, Lasse Løvstakken², Asbjørn Støylen³, Solveig Fadnes⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Cardiology, St. Olav Hospital/Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: annichen.s.daae@ntnu.no.
² Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
³ Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Cardiology, St. Olav Hospital/Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Møre og Romsdal Hospital Trust, Women's Health, Child and Adolescent Clinic, Ålesund Hospital, Ålesund, Norway.

PMID: 37301662
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.04.019

Abstract

Objective: Using an experimental tool for retrospective ultrasound Doppler quantification-with high temporal resolution and large spatial coverage-simultaneous flow and tissue measurements were obtained. We compared and validated these experimental values against conventional measurements to determine if the experimental acquisition produced trustworthy tissue and flow velocities.

Methods: We included 21 healthy volunteers. The only exclusion criterion was the presence of an irregular heartbeat. Two ultrasound examinations were performed for each participant, one using conventional and one using experimental acquisition. The experimental acquisition used multiple plane wave emissions combined with electrocardiography stitching to obtain continuous data with over 3500 frames per second. With two recordings covering a biplane apical view of the left ventricle, we retrospectively extracted selected flow and tissue velocities.

Results: Flow and tissue velocities were compared between the two acquisitions. Statistical testing showed a small but significant difference. We also exemplified the possibility of extracting spectral tissue Doppler from different sample volumes in the myocardium within the imaging sector, showing a decrease in the velocities from the base to the apex.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of simultaneous, retrospective spectral and color Doppler of both tissue and flow from an experimental acquisition covering a full sector width. The measurements were significantly different between the two acquisitions but were still comparable, as the biases were small compared to clinical practice, and the two acquisitions were not done simultaneously. The experimental acquisition also enabled the study of deformation by simultaneous spectral velocity traces from all regions of the image sector.

Keywords: Continuous acquisition; Echocardiography; Retrospective spectral tissue Doppler; Spectral tissue Doppler imaging; Ultra-high frame rate; Ultrafast cardiac imaging.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Blood Flow Velocity
Electrocardiography
Heart Ventricles* / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Myocardium*
Retrospective Studies
Ultrasonography, Doppler