2004 Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 49-55
Background. In a recently developed hand-carried echo device, portability is achieved at the expense of display size and by the choice of directional color power Doppler (DCPD) rather than pulsed or standard color Doppler imaging. Accuracy of a hand-carried echo device in measuring cardiac chamber size and in assessing valve regurgitation by a trained sonographer was tested by comparing the measurements between hand-carried and standard echo systems.
Methods. We studied 56 patients on a consecutive basis using a hand-carried echo device for minutes and then using a standard echo machine. Left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters and the septal and posterior wall thickness were determined in 2D images by the reference of the mitral and aortic valve closure. Valve regurgitation was assessed with DCPD imaging using a hand-carried device and with color Doppler imaging using a standard machine.
Results. There was a good correspondence in LV end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters and wall thickness between the two echo systems (r=0.96, 0.93 and 0.95). When the color Doppler imaging was taken as a gold standard, sensitivity and specificity of detecting valve regurgitation was 98 and 99%, respectively. There was a good correlation in the width and length of the regurgitant signal between the two echo systems (r=0.96 and r=0.84).
Conclusions. The hand-carried echo device provides an accurate assessment of LV function, chamber size, wall thickness and valve regurgitation when the data are obtained and analyzed by a trained sonographer. Small display size and use of directional color power Doppler does not appear to deteriorate the accuracy.
