Recent Advances in Echocardiography

More than 60 years have passed since Inge Edler and Hellmuth Hertz began using M-mode echocardiography as a diagnostic tool for cardiovascular disease in 1953 [1].Over the past 60 years, echocardiography has evolved from a simple M-mode imaging technique to an array of technologies that include two-dimensional (2D) imaging, pulsed and continuous wave Doppler, color flow and tissue Doppler, transesophageal echocardiography, and three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography [1,2].Although 3D technique has changed rapidly in recent years, and the time needed for 3D image acquisition and analysis has gradually decreased [3], it is still difficult to incorporate 3D echocardiography into daily clinical practice.Hence, 2D echocardiography remains the first-choice imaging technique in clinical use.When 2D echocardiography is used to assess left ventricular volume and systolic function, good image quality with clear visualization of endocardial border is required for accurate assessment of left ventricular volume and function [4].However, suboptimal image quality is estimated to occur in approximately 20% of all patients undergoing echocardiography [5].Suboptimal image quality may lead to misdiagnosis or the need for additional, often unnecessary, and costly tests.In order to overcome this problem, novel 2D echocardiographic imaging technologies have been introduced in recent years, which have significantly enhanced the image quality of 2D echocardiography.In addition, new on-cart 3D quantification software can greatly reduce the analysis time for 3D volume quantification and facilitate the incorporation of 3D quantitative analysis into daily examination workflow.The following is a general overview of two new echocardiographic technologies.