The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

Reiber, Johan; Sutter, Johan; Schoenhagen, Paul; Stillman, Arthur; Veire, Nico

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1111-5pmid: 28315986

Roy, James; Sun, Philip; Ison, Glenn; Prasan, Ananth; Ford, Tom; Hopkins, Andrew; Ramsay, David; Weaver, James

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1067-5pmid: 28120155

Objectives The aim of this study was to quantify the radiation dose reduction during coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) through removal of the anti-scatter grid (ASG), and to assess its impact on image quality in adult patients with a low body mass index (BMI). Methods A phantom with different thicknesses of acrylic was used with a Westmead Test Object to simulate patient sizes and assess image quality. 129 low BMI patients underwent coronary angiography or PCI with or without the ASG in situ. Radiation dose was compared between both patient groups. Results With the same imaging system and a comparable patient population, ASG removal was associated with a 47% reduction in total dose-area product (DAP) (p < 0.001). Peak skin dose was reduced by 54% (p < 0.001). Operator scatter was reduced to a similar degree and was significantly reduced through removal of the ASG. Using an image quality phantom it was demonstrated that image quality remained satisfactory. Conclusions Removal of the ASG is a simple and effective method to significantly reduce radiation dose in coronary angiography and PCI. This was achieved while maintaining adequate diagnostic image quality. Selective removal of the ASG is likely to improve the radiation safety of cardiac angiography and interventions.

Kozuma, Kayoko; Kashiwabara, Kosuke; Shinozaki, Tomohiro; Kozuma, Ken; Oba, Koji; Matsuyama, Yutaka

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1068-4pmid: 28110432

The current version (ver. 7.3) of the popular quantitative coronary analysis system QAngio XA (Medis Medical Imaging System BV, Leiden, the Netherlands) is widely used without evaluating the agreement between the current and older versions in relation to a change of algorithms. The purpose of this study was to assess the equivalence of averages between QAngio XA versions 7.3 and 6.0. Based on the calculated sample size, angiographic images of 100 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention of a single target lesion were randomly selected from two published studies (OUCH-TL: 154 lesions; OUCH-PRO: 160 lesions). The primary endpoint was the minimum lumen diameter (MLD), and the secondary endpoints were the reference diameter (RefD) and length of the stenotic lesion (LL). Two independent analysts measured the same frame using both previous and current versions of QAngio XA. Version-order for each lesion was randomly determined per coronary locations targeted. Data were analysed by using a mixed model that includes random lesion effects and fixed rater effects and reading-order effects. A Bland–Altman plot of parameters showed no large differences between the versions. Differences in parameters were estimated by the mixed model, and the 95% confidence interval of the MLD, RefD, and LL estimates was from −0.045 to −0.0001 mm, from −0.040 to 0.006 mm, and from −1.08 to 0.46 mm, respectively, compared with the predefined non-inferiority margin of ±0.2 mm. Measurements of MLD and RefD using QAngio XA showed no major systematic differences between versions.

Komatsu, Sei; Ohara, Tomoki; Takahashi, Satoru; Takewa, Mitsuhiko; Yutani, Chikao; Kodama, Kazuhisa

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1079-1pmid: 28176183

Non-obstructive angioscopy (NOA) is used to visualize the surface of the coronary artery, and a clear visual field is obtained by injecting transparent fluid into the gap between the probing catheter and the fiber. This study examines visual field expansion by a dual infusion method, which involves an infusion from the probing and guiding catheters, and the relationships between visual grade and vessel characteristics. Thirty-two patients and thirty patients performed coronary plaque analysis with NOA using the conventional method and the novel dual infusion method, respectively. Images were blindly analyzed retrospectively. Visual fields were assessed from image slices using a 5-point scale (0 = invisible, 1 = poor, 2 = adequate, 3 = good, 4 = excellent) at 5-s intervals. The relationships between visual grade and vessel characteristics were analyzed using multiple stepwise linear regression analysis. The mean visual grade, “excellent” ratio, and “adequate” ratio were significantly higher using the dual infusion method than those obtained using the conventional method (p = 0.003, p = 0.004, and p = 0.005 respectively). The “invisible” ratio was significantly lower using the dual infusion method than the conventional method (p = 0.027). The visual field was negatively associated with the conventional method (β  = −0.154, p < 0.001), large vessels (β = −0.004, p < 0.49), bifurcation (β  = −0.205, p < 0.001), vessels with a sharp angle (β  = −0.106, p < 0.001), in-stent (β = −0.180, p < 0.001), and distal border of stent (β  = −0.075, p < 0.001); and positively associated with significant stenosis (β  = 0.072, p < 0.001) and significantly covered stents (β  = 0.050, p = 0.018). The visual field with NOA can be effectively expanded by the dual infusion method.

Nakamura, Takeshi; Okamura, Takayuki; Fujimura, Tatsuhiro; Yamada, Jutaro; Nao, Tomoko; Tateishi, Hiroki; Maeda, Takao; Oda, Takamasa; Shiraishi, Kozo; Nakashima, Tadamitsu; Nishimura, Shigehiko; Miura, Toshiro; Matsuzaki, Masunori; Yano, Masafumi

Ryan, Nicola; Gonzalo, Nieves; Dingli, Philip; Cruz, Oscar; Jiménez-Quevedo, Pilar; Nombela-Franco, Luis; Nuñez-Gil, Ivan; Trigo, María; Salinas, Pablo; Macaya, Carlos; Fernandez-Ortiz, Antonio; Escaned, Javier

Sotomi, Yohei; Okamura, Atsunori; Iwakura, Katsuomi; Date, Motoo; Nagai, Hiroyuki; Yamasaki, Tomohiro; Koyama, Yasushi; Inoue, Koichi; Sakata, Yasushi; Fujii, Kenshi

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1064-8

Amsallem, Myriam; Boulate, David; Kooreman, Zoe; Zamanian, Roham; Fadel, Guillaume; Schnittger, Ingela; Fadel, Elie; McConnell, Michael; Dhillon, Gundeep; Mercier, Olaf; Haddad, François

doi:

Liu, Dan; Hu, Kai; Herrmann, Sebastian; Cikes, Maja; Ertl, Georg; Weidemann, Frank; Störk, Stefan; Nordbeck, Peter

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1075-5pmid: 28265790

Prognosis of patients with light-chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA) is poor. Speckle tracking imaging (STI) derived longitudinal deformation parameters and Doppler-derived left ventricular (LV) Tei index are valuable predictors of outcome in patients with AL-CA. We estimated the prognostic utility of Tei index and deformation parameters in 58 comprehensively phenotyped patients with AL-CA after a median follow-up of 365 days (quartiles 121, 365 days). The primary end point was all-cause mortality. 19 (33%) patients died during follow-up. Tei index (0.89 ± 0.29 vs. 0.61 ± 0.16, p < 0.001) and E to global early diastolic strain rate ratio (E/GLSRdias) were higher while global longitudinal systolic strain (GLSsys) was lower in non-survivors than in survivors (all p < 0.05). Tei index, NYHA functional class, GLSsys and E/GLSRdias were independent predictors of all-cause mortality risk, and Tei index ≥0.9 (HR 7.01, 95% CI 2.43–20.21, p < 0.001) was the best predictor of poor outcome. Combining Tei index and GLSsys yielded the best results on predicting death within 1 year (100% with Tei index ≥0.9 and GLSsys ≤13%) or survival (95% with Tei index ≤0.9 and GLSsys ≥13%). We conclude that 1-year mortality risk in AL-CA patients can be reliably predicted using Tei index or deformation parameters, with combined analysis offering best performance.

Bhave, Nicole; Visovatti, Scott; Kulick, Brian; Kolias, Theodore; McLaughlin, Vallerie

doi: 10.1007/s10554-017-1081-7pmid: 28168563

Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is a practical and widely used tool for risk stratification in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We hypothesized that right atrial (RA) reservoir function, represented by peak RA systolic strain, correlates with invasive hemodynamic measurements and clinical outcomes in PAH. Patients with group 1 PAH who had TTE within 6 months of index PAH clinic visit and right heart catheterization were included in this retrospective study. Peak RA strain in the 2D apical 4-chamber view was measured with speckle-tracking software. The primary endpoint was a composite of prostacyclin initiation, lung transplantation, and death. RA strain was also measured in healthy control subjects. Among the 37 patients studied, 25 (68%) met the primary endpoint. RA strain was significantly lower among patients who met the primary endpoint than among those who did not (mean 20% vs. 33%, P = 0.002). Strain was lower in PAH patients than in controls (mean 24% vs. 35%, P = 0.0001). RA strain correlated negatively with hemodynamic data including RA pressure (R = −0.31), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (R = −0.33), and pulmonary vascular resistance (R = −0.39), and positively with cardiac index (R = 0.44). In receiver operating characteristic analysis to distinguish between patients meeting the primary endpoint and event-free survivors, RA strain was not significantly different from RA volume, right ventricular (RV) fractional area change, RV basal diameter, or right ventricular systolic pressure (area under the curve 0.82, 0.81, 0.83, 0.86, and 0.97, respectively). Our results demonstrate that RA strain is predictive of clinical outcomes in PAH. Further research is needed to determine if RA strain is independently associated with outcomes in this population.