Philips highlights 3D echo analysis study

Royal Philips, the parent company of Philips Healthcare, is highlighting results from a global study indicating that automated 3D analysis of echocardiography images of the left heart chambers is an accurate alternative to conventional manual analysis.

Current guidelines recommend 3D echo chamber quantification for patients undergoing an echocardiography exam, but adoption in clinical practice has lagged due to time-consuming analysis.

This study compared Philips' HeartModelA.I. technique with a conventional manual method to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of three different heart measurements in a multicenter setting: left-atrial (LA) volume, left-ventricular (LV) volume, and ejection fraction. The research team found the Philips technique to be just as accurate as the conventional method (EHJ - Cardiovascular Imaging, 4 February 2017).

Philips HeartModelA.I. provides automated 3D analysis of echocardiography images. Image courtesy of Philips.

Lead author Dr. Diego Medvedofsky and colleagues imaged 180 patients across six sites. Images were analyzed using the automated HeartModelA.I. software with endocardial border correction when necessary and by manual tracing. Measurements were performed by each site and by the core laboratory as the reference.

Comparisons without corrections showed perfect agreement for all parameters. With corrections, correlations were better, demonstrating the automated 3D echo technique to be just as accurate.