COLOR KINESIS (CK) IS BASED ON AUTOMATIC BORDER DETECTION AND COLOR CODING OF ENDOCARDIAL MOTION TO SHOW THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF WALL-MOTION DURING THE CARDIAC CYCLE IN REAL-TIME

The object of this study was to assess the Value of CK in the evaluati on of left ventricular wall motion. Fifteen coronary patients aged 56 +/- 12 years were included : 8 patients were examined after acute myoc ardial infarction and 7 after unstable angina with a history of myocar dial information. The left ventricle was divided into 7 segments after a modified Heger model, excluding the basal septal and basal lateral segments not seen on angiography. The left ventricular wall motion was assessed in two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) and colour kinesis (CK) by two observers and compared with the results of left ventricul ography, considered the reference method. Over all the 105 segments st udied (7 segments for each of the IS patients), CK was significantly b etter than 2DE (80% of segments correctly evaluated by CK vs 68% by 2D E, p < 0.05). Colour kinesis significantly improved the study of all s egments except the interventricular septum (67% vs 60%, p = NS). The i nter-observer variability in 2DE and CK evaluated over 135 segments (9 per patient) by the kappa was improved by colour kinesis (0.57 in 2DE , 0.7 in CK). The authors conclude that CK enables evaluation of left ventricular wall motion with greater precision and less inter-observer variability.