An automated analysis of M-mode echocardiograms for the study of the left ventricular diastolic function

A method for the automated analysis of the left ventricular diastolic function on M-mode echograms that does not require simultaneous phono- or apexcardiogram recordings is described. This allows more rapid examinations, feasible even in poorly equipped services, and makes retrospective studies on echocardiographic archives possible. The procedure enables the operator to eliminate or correct possible mistakes made during the manual acquisition of the echocardiographic curves. On the other hand, small unavoidable imperfections due to the acquisition system can be minimized by the mathematical processing of the acquired curves. The theoretical background of this analytical procedure is given