Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography
Volume 22, Issue 7 , Pages 852-858, July 2009

Speckle Tracking Ultrasound Is Independent of Insonation Angle and Gain: An In Vitro Investigation of Agreement with Sonomicrometry

  • Kim Sivesgaard, MS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Aarhus, Denmark
    • Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Kim Sivesgaard, MS, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Brendstrupgaardsvej 100, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
    • ,
  • Sara Dahl Christensen, MS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Aarhus, Denmark
    • Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
    • ,
  • Hans Nygaard, BScEE, DMSc

      Affiliations

    • Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Research, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Aarhus, Denmark
    • Engineering College of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
    • ,
  • J. Michael Hasenkam, MD, DMSc

      Affiliations

    • Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Research, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Aarhus, Denmark
    • ,
  • Erik Sloth, MD, DMSc

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Aarhus, Denmark

published online 10 June 2009.

Aarhus, Denmark

Objective

It has been shown that speckle tracking ultrasound (STU) is capable of measuring peak strain accurately in vitro over a range of compression rates and amplitudes. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different angles of insonation with a range of scanner settings.

Methods

A tissue-mimicking phantom was cyclically deformed to imitate the beating heart. With different combinations of scanner settings, strain was measured by STU using sonomicrometry as reference.

Results

Over a majority of parameter combinations, speckle tracking measured strain accurately. However, a combination of large echocardiographic image displacements, low frame rates, and small sector depths resulted in increased difference between STU and sonomicrometry. The angle of insonation and gain setting did not affect STU.

Conclusion

Despite the limitations exhibited by image displacement, frame rate, and sector depth, STU remains a promising technique for angle-independent assessment of strain.

Keywords: In vitro, Speckle tracking ultrasound, Strain

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 Kim Sivesgaard was supported by FONDEN AF 17-12-1981. Sara Dahl Christensen was supported by the Danish Medical Research Council Grant 271-07-0026. The ultrasound system and analysis software were acquired with support from The John and Birthe Meyer Foundation.

PII: S0894-7317(09)00388-5

doi:10.1016/j.echo.2009.04.028

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography
Volume 22, Issue 7 , Pages 852-858, July 2009

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