Artefacts   A reliable derivation of deformation information from our B-mode imaging requires adequate (good) image quality. Echocardiographic images are often prone to artefacts and/or inadequate acoustic windows. Bad image quality will give bad and unreliable deformation graphs. A thorough knowledge of specific artefact will prevent misinterpretation of noise as abnormal deformation. A selection of […]

Reading and interpreting the graphs In this section I will guide the reader through the interpretation of the different strain/ SR graphs. All relevant definitions are found at the beginning of this document. For the sake of simplicity I present only a single graph in the figures instead of the 6 different regional and additional […]

“How-to”: Image acquisition Several key steps need to be undertaken for optimal derivation/calculation of regional and global deformation. I would like to redirect the reader to earlier published work by our group (open access paper, click link) where we describe our applied methods for the optimal image acquisition. This manuscript also guides the reader through […]

Definitions   Displacement (mm) Amount of distance which a predefined region of the heart moves during a predefined time interval. Typically, the displacement of the annular plane (either the mitral or the tricuspid) during systole in the longitudinal direction (towards the transducer). Value is expressed in mm or cm. Velocity (cm/sec) The (maximum) speed of […]