Measuring left ventricular regional wall thickening using dynamic M-mode imaging

In order to measure left ventricular (LV) regional wall thickening, one must accurately track movement of the endocardial and epicardial borders. This task can be exceedingly tedious and error-prone when performed on 2D echocardiographic cineloops. The authors have developed a computer-assisted technique, dynamic M-mode, that allows a user to specify the position of the endocardial and epicardial borders using cursors on a synthetic M-mode image that are synchronized to cursors on the 2D cineloop from which the M-mode was derived. The authors evaluated the accuracy of dynamic M-mode imaging by comparing measurements of wall thickening and rates of wall thickening performed using this technique with those produced using paired transmural ultrasonic crystals implanted on the LV epicardium and endocardium in five open-chested dogs. The results show a close correspondence between the measurements produced by these two methods