Latest developments in echocardiography

Abstract

Ultrasound has been a diagnostic tool since the 1970s and has, in the meantime, become one of the most widely-adopted imaging techniques. In the last decade, significant technological developments have led to improvements in the quality of the images (from 2D systems to 3D, and recently even 4D ultrasound systems). In addition to the quality of images, improvements were also made in the ease of use: last year, a new ultrasound system was introduced which requires only a small transducer connected to a tablet or smartphone by USB. These, and other improvements, have consolidated ultrasound’s usefulness for many years to come. This course will present the most advanced techniques used in cardiac ultrasound for approximating the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), measuring cardiac tissue motion and strain (Speckle Tracking) and for quantifying the mitral valve.