In Vivo Measurement of Small Velocity Signals and Change in Thickness of the Heart Walls

• Published in: JPN J APPL PHYS PART 1 REGUL PAP SHORT NOTE REV PAP Vol. 38; no. 5S; pp. 3403 - 3408
• Main Authors: Kanai, Hiroshi, Koiwa, Yoshiro, Saito, Yoshiko, Susukida, Ikuko, MotonaoTanaka, MotonaoTanaka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: Cardiology; Diagnosis; Medical imaging; Ultrasonic velocity measurement
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.38.3403

We have previously developed a new method for accurately tracking
the movement of the heart wall based on both the phase and magnitude
of the demodulated signals to determine the instantaneous position of
an object. By this method, velocity signals of the heart wall with
small amplitudes less than several micrometers on the motion
resulting from a heartbeat can be accurately detected. Moreover, the
method has been applied to multiple points preset in the heart wall
along an ultrasonic beam so that the spatial distributions of the
local change in thickness during one cardiac cycle is determined. In
this paper, the method is applied to the free wall of the right
ventricle (RV), the interventricular septum (IVS), and the posterior
wall of the left ventricle (LV). From the relationships among the
results for these parts of the heart, new findings which characterize
the velocity signals and the change in thickness in each cardiac
period are described. This method offers potential for quantitative
myocardial diagnosis.