Quantitative Real-time 3-Dimensional Stress Echocardiography: A Preliminary Investigation of Feasibility and Effectiveness

Background: Use of rapidly emerging real-time 3-dimensional (3D) echocardiography promises to improve the diagnostic accuracy of stress echocardiography (SE). However, widespread acceptance of 3D-SE, based on real-time 3D echocardiography, is hampered in part by lack of efficient, accurate, and objective analysis tools. Methods: We propose novel algorithms for interactive visualization, registration (alignment), and quantitative analysis of prestress and poststress real-time 3D echocardiography to facilitate an objective diagnosis. In a preliminary evaluation, two experts independently performed wall-motion analysis in 15 patients with known/suspected coronary artery disease, using the novel quantitative 3D-SE methods. Results: Compared with previously reported values for conventional 2-dimensional SE, improved interexpert agreement (κ = 0.85) was observed for segment-wise classification of normal/abnormal wall motion using the novel 3D-SE methods. Overall, 6 of 6 patients with abnormal myocardial segments were correctly identified by both experts with 3D-SE, compared with 4 of 6 with conventional 2-dimensional SE. Conclusion: Initial results are promising and indicate the feasibility and potential of our proposed quantitative 3D-SE methodologies for improving diagnosis of wall-motion abnormalities.