Angle-independent quantification of complex flow patterns in congenital heart disease

There is emerging interest in quantifying the relationship between intracardiac flow patterns and cardiac function. In this work we present and evaluate a non-invasive and angle-independent approach to flow imaging that is suitable for use in pediatric cardiology. An acquisition scheme compatible with color flow imaging (CFI) was setup based on plane wave transmission and 16 parallel receive beams. In addition to conventional color flow imaging, speckle tracking was utilized within groups of parallel beams to find the lateral flow component. In vivo results showed that complex secondary flow patterns could be quantified with similar accuracy as for CFI, but that 2-4 times the smoothing currently is required. By using the proposed imaging modality, less interpretation of traditional color flow images is needed, and new information of flow becomes available that may aid the diagnosis and follow-up of neonates and children with congenital heart disease.