3D Echocardiography: Towards a Better Understanding of Cardiac Anatomy and Function

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Attila Kovács

Semmelweis University Heart and Vascular Center

Dr. Attila Kovács is an assistant professor and Echocardiography Core Lab leader at Semmelweis University, Hungary. His main field of interest was exercise physiology and cardiovascular imaging from the very beginning. He has focused on the implementation of novel echocardiographic techniques (speckle-tracking echocardiography and 3D imaging) in the everyday clinical routine and in the complex sports cardiology screening program established at the Heart and Vascular Center. His research group continues to investigate exercise-induced cardiac changes to better understand the physiology of the athlete’s heart and potentially, to better prevent sudden cardiac death. He is passionate about the importance of right ventricular mechanics and also about the added value of machine learning techniques in cardiology. Together with his colleagues, he developed a novel software algorithm to characterize the global and segmental wall motions of the right ventricle. The ReVISION method won several innovation awards. He is a member of the Editorial Board at Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. He is Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography and the European Society of Cardiology.

Collection Overview

Advancements in ultrasound transducer and computer technology have permitted for the visualization of cardiac structures with excellent spatial and temporal resolution in three dimensions. 3D echocardiography provided new insights into, among others, understanding cardiac mechanics and valvular heart diseases.. From a fancy research tool, 3D echocardiography evolved into a robust clinical modality and several 3D-derived measurements are now incorporated in current clinical guidelines. However, the widespread use of the technique is hindered by its learning curve. The current JoVE collection brings together the cutting-edge protocols of 3D image acquisition and the subsequent analysis to facilitate the use of 3D echocardiography in research and in clinical practice. Invited contributors are experts and everyday users of the technique and will cover the important fields of the assessment of left ventricular, left atrial, and right ventricular morphology.