This is a field of medical diagnostics that performs non-invasive tissue examinations using ultrasound waves. Symptoms. Symptoms of these diseases include pain in the pelvic area and kidneys, signs of heart disease, and others. Patients are generally referred for ultrasound by their attending physician. Pregnant women should also undergo ultrasound diagnostics in every trimester.
Speckle-tracking
what is it?
Speckle-tracking echocardiography is based on analyzing the spatial displacement (known as tracking) of speckles (spots or points in a grayscale image generated by interaction between the ultrasound beam and myocardial fibers) during ordinary two-dimensional sonography. Before this complex echocardiographic technique was introduced, only tagged-molecule magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could accurately analyze several strain components that characterize myocardial dynamics. Although tagged-molecule magnetic resonance imaging is considered the gold standard in this field, routine use is limited by its high cost, low availability, the relative complexity of obtaining images, and lengthy data analysis. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been approved by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) as a quantitative measure for assessing global left-ventricular function.
All ASE guidelines have the highest level of evidence, are recommended for practical use worldwide, and are publicly available on the official website. In addition to traditional echocardiographic methods, speckle-tracking echocardiography enables unprecedented in-depth assessment of myocardial systolic and diastolic function across a broad range of physiological and pathological conditions. For example, not only is there a good correlation between longitudinal strain and left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), as shown in numerous studies, but longitudinal strain also provides quantitative analysis of myocardial deformation in each LV segment, making it possible to detect early signs of systolic dysfunction in patients with preserved LVEF.
