Three-dimensional color Doppler reconstruction of intracardiac blood flow in patients with different heart valve diseases

An improved perception of the magnitude and dynamics of intracardiac flow d isturbances has been made possible by the advent of 3-dimensional (3-D) col or Doppler, a new diagnostic procedure developed at our institution. This s tudy describes the new insights derived from 3-D reconstruction of color Do ppler flow patterns in patients with different heart valve diseases. The co lor Doppler flow data from 153 multiplanar transesophageal or transthoracic echocardiographic examinations has been obtained from 133 patients with he art valve disease; 73 patients had mitral regurgitation, 15 had mitral sten osis, 18 had aortic regurgitation, 26 had aortic stenosis, and 21 patients had tricuspid regurgitation. Four patients had pulmonary regurgitation asso ciated with mitral valve disease. The 3-D reconstructions of color Doppler flow signals were accomplished by means of the "Heidelberg Raytracing model ," developed at our institution. The 3-D color Doppler reconstructions were obtained in all patients. The 3-D images revealed for the first time the c omplex spatial distribution of the blood flow abnormalities in the heart ch ambers caused by different heart valve diseases. New patterns of intracardi ac blood flow disturbances were observed and classified. Three-dimensional color Doppler provides a unique noninvasive method that can be easily appli ed for studying intracardiac blood flow disturbances in clinical practice. (C) 2000 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.