2016 Volume 32 Issue 6 Pages 462-472
With the advent of three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography, we are now able to assess the 3D geometry and coordinated function of a complex structure, the atrioventricular valve (AV). Many studies have analyzed the effects of annulus or leaflet morphology or the position of the papillary muscles on AV function. As early as the 1980s, published papers have analyzed AV valve annulus motion using 3D information acquired by rotating an echo-probe around the axis of the heart and saving the two-dimensional echocardiographic images of each cardiac cycle. In the 2000s, real-time 3D transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography subsequently became commercially available and proved their usefulness in actual clinical practice. The two methods for visualizing 3D echocardiographic data are volume rendering and multiplanar reconstruction. Volume rendering enables understanding of the entire AV valve, whereas multiplanar reconstruction contributes to a more precise analysis or quantitative evaluation. Here studies related to AV valve function mainly analyzed using 3D echocardiography are discussed and future directions are described.
