Intracardiac shear wave velocimetry using Acoustic Radiation Force (ARF) excitations: In vivo results

Acoustic Radiation Force (ARF)-driven shear wave velocimetry is a validated way of quantitatively measuring tissue elasticity. Open-chest velocimetry experiments have been able to measure regional myocardial contractility, a potentially useful diagnostic parameter for heart disease, but a clinically-viable method of making this measurement is needed. Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE) catheter-tip ultrasound probes are demonstrated here to measure myocardial contractility while remaining minimally invasive. Specialized techniques such as nonrigid elastic registration address the challenges of using ICE for ARF methods, and in vivo data are presented, demonstrating the effectiveness of this technique.