William A. Zoghbi, MD, MACC, FAHA, FASE, is the chair of the Department of Cardiology at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, and past president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). He also is the course director for the ASE State-of-the-Art Echocardiography 2022 course held in February, which discussed many of the latest cardiac ultrasound technologies.
Zoghbi said these are among the key cardiac ultrasound trends:
• Myocardial strain imaging
• Integration of artificial intelligence (AI)
• Adoption of 3D cardiac ultrasound systems for daily exams
• Use of advanced 3D echo in structural heart pre-procedural planning and to guide procedures in the interventional lab
He said strain has seen a lot of adoption over the past few years, because it adds a lot of diagnostic information to the echo exams. "You hear about the use of strain for the left ventricle and global longitudinal strain, but also there is use of strain for the assessment of the right ventricle and left atrial function," Zoghbi said. "This improves our diastolic function assessment in patients such as those with heart failure and patients with shortness of breath. The right ventricle has always been more problematic for echocardiography, so having this technology to assess the right ventricle function, is really a significant advancement."
AI is helping cardiac ultrasound in three areas, including interpretation, automation of measurments and pulling in prior exam images of the anatomy being examined, and as an aid to guide novice sonograpohers to obtains high quality echo images, Zoghbi explained.
Read the related article Q&A: William Zoghbi breaks down the future of echocardiography
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Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com