Analyzing strain rate in echocardiography images by using MATLAB

The purpose of measuring strain and strain rate on echocardiographic images of the heart is to detect any hypokinetic region that may be caused by diseases like cardiomyopathy, aneursym and myocardial infarction. In this study, strain and strain rates in echocardiographic images were examined by using a MATLAB based speckle tracking algorithm. The algorithm consists of filtering and sharpening the images, tagging some specific areas, tracking the moving parts and calculating the strain and strain rate by using coordinates, sequentially. After calculations, results of the algorithm have been compared with the results taken from the echocardiography device that the same images had been taken from. Results showed that the MATLAB algorithm could be used in measuring strain and strain rates in echocardiographic images.