SYSTEM FOR QUANTITATIVE 3-DIMENSIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY OF THE LEFT-VENTRICLE BASED ON A MAGNETIC-FIELD POSITION AND ORIENTATION SENSING SYSTEM

Accurate measurement of left-ventricular (LV) volume and function are important to monitor disease progression and assess prognosis in patie nts with heart disease. Existing methods of three-dimensional (3-D) im aging of the heart using ultrasound have shown the potential of this m odality, but each suffers from inherent restrictions which limit its a pplicability to the full range of clinical situations. We have develop ed a technique for image acquisition using a magnetic-field system to track the 3-D echocardiographic imaging planes and 3-D image analysis software including the piecewise smooth subdivision method for surface reconstruction. The technique offers several advantages over existing methods of 3-D echocardiography. The results of validation using in v itro LV's show that the technique allows accurate measurement of LV vo lume and anatomically accurate 3-D reconstruction of LV shape and is, therefore, suitable for analysis of regional as well as global functio n.