High-frame-rate color Doppler techniques achieved frame rates up to 625 Hz and provided comparable velocity estimates (relative difference <6%) compared to standard single-line scans.
Do high-frame-rate color Doppler imaging techniques improve quantitative measures compared to standard single-line scans in echocardiography?
High-frame-rate color Doppler imaging enhances time resolution and provides comparable velocity estimates to standard scans, despite increased artifacts and reduced penetration depth.
Ultrasound color Doppler imaging (CDI) provides a map of the axial blood flow velocities in a 2-D/3-D region of interest. While CDI is clinically effective for a qualitative analysis of abnormal blood flows, e.g., for valvular disease in cardiology, it is in limited use for quantitative measures, mainly hampered by low frame rate and measurement bias. These limitations can be reduced by different approaches toward high-frame-rate (HFR) imaging at the expense of reduced image quality and penetration depth. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of different HFR sequences on CDI quantitatively. Different cardiac scan sequences, including diverging waves and multiline transmission, were designed, implemented on a research system, and compared in terms of patient safety parameters, image quality, and penetration depth. Furthermore, in vivo images were acquired and compared for healthy volunteers. Results showed that the HFR techniques spread artifacts on larger areas than the standard single-line scans (> +50%). In addition, due to patient safety limitations, they reduce the penetration depth up to -5 cm. On the other hand, the HFR techniques provide comparable velocity estimates (relative difference <6%) and enhance the time resolution of the color Doppler images, achieving frame rates up to 625 Hz in continuous acquisition.
Ramalli et al. (Mon,) conducted a other in Healthy volunteers. High-frame-rate (HFR) sequences vs. Standard single-line scans was evaluated on Patient safety parameters, image quality, penetration depth, and velocity estimates. High-frame-rate color Doppler techniques achieved frame rates up to 625 Hz and provided comparable velocity estimates (relative difference <6%) compared to standard single-line scans.