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Automated analysis of fetal cardiac function using color tissue Doppler imaging
Author(s) -
Herling L.,
Johnson J.,
FermWidlund K.,
Bergholm F.,
Lindgren P.,
Sonesson S.E.,
Acharya G.,
Westgren M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1002/uog.18812
Subject(s) - medicine , doppler effect , doppler imaging , fetal heart , cardiac function curve , cardiac cycle , color doppler , nuclear medicine , biomedical engineering , fetus , cardiology , radiology , ultrasonography , pregnancy , physics , heart failure , genetics , astronomy , biology , blood pressure , diastole
ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the feasibility of automated analysis of fetal myocardial velocity recordings obtained by color tissue Doppler imaging (cTDI). Methods This was a prospective cross‐sectional observational study of 107 singleton pregnancies ≥ 41 weeks of gestation. Myocardial velocity recordings were obtained by cTDI in a long‐axis four‐chamber view of the fetal heart. Regions of interest were placed in the septum and the right (RV) and left (LV) ventricular walls at the level of the atrioventricular plane. Peak myocardial velocities and mechanical cardiac time intervals were measured both manually and by an automated algorithm and agreement between the two methods was evaluated. Results In total, 321 myocardial velocity traces were analyzed using each method. It was possible to analyze all velocity traces obtained from the LV, RV and septal walls with the automated algorithm, and myocardial velocities and cardiac mechanical time intervals could be measured in 96% of all traces. The same results were obtained when the algorithm was run repeatedly. The myocardial velocities measured using the automated method correlated significantly with those measured manually. The agreement between methods was not consistent and some cTDI parameters had considerable bias and poor precision. Conclusions Automated analysis of myocardial velocity recordings obtained by cTDI was feasible, suggesting that this technique could simplify and facilitate the use of cTDI in the evaluation of fetal cardiac function, both in research and in clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.