ESTIMATION OF SEVERITY OF MITRAL REGURGITATION BY DIGITAL IMAGE-PROCESSING OF DOPPLER SPECTRAL RECORDINGS

In order to test the hypothesis that the intensity of the regurgitant signal (RS) is indicative of severity of mitral regurgitation (MR), we digitized five well-defined MR envelopes in 19 patients and calculate d the mean pixel intensity (MPI) of the MR envelope and that of the di astolic inflow signal (DIF) using an offline computer system. The mean age of the patients was 49 years (range 19-78 years). The intensity o f the RS was expressed as a ratio of the MPI of DIF (RS/DIF). This rat io was compared to the severity of MR determined by left ventricular a ngiography (LV angio). The ratio of the RS/DIF correlated well with th e angiographic severity of MR (r = 0.9). A ratio of > 0.6 identified p atients with moderate to severe MR and a ratio of < 0.6 correlated wit h mild MR (grade I and II) by LV angio. Our data indicate that MR seve rity assessed by measurement of the intensity of the RS correlates wel l with the angiographic determination of MR.