Key result
A myocardial motion estimation technique combining tissue Doppler and B-mode images achieved mean displacement errors of about 1 mm on a synthetic dataset and provided robust estimates in 6 volunteers.
Combining B-mode and tissue Doppler echocardiographic images improves the accuracy and robustness of myocardial motion estimation.
May support hybrid echo motion tracking in research; leaves open larger validation before clinical adoption.
We propose a technique for myocardial motion estimation based on image registration using both B-mode echocardiographic images and tissue Doppler sequences acquired interleaved. The velocity field is modeled continuously using B-splines and the spatiotemporal transform is constrained to be diffeomorphic. Images before scan conversion are used to improve the accuracy of the estimation. The similarity measure includes a model of the speckle pattern distribution of B-mode images. It also penalizes the disagreement between tissue Doppler velocities and the estimated velocity field. Registration accuracy is evaluated and compared to other alternatives using a realistic synthetic dataset, obtaining mean displacement errors of about 1 mm. Finally, the method is demonstrated on data acquired from six volunteers, both at rest and during exercise. Robustness is tested against low image quality and fast heart rates during exercise. Results show that our method provides a robust motion estimate in these situations.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Porras et al. (2014) studied this question. Myocardial motion estimation combining tissue Doppler and B-mode echocardiographic images vs. other alternatives was evaluated on Mean displacement errors. A myocardial motion estimation technique combining tissue Doppler and B-mode images achieved mean displacement errors of about 1 mm on a synthetic dataset and provided robust estimates in 6 volunteers.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: