Panoramic transesophageal echocardiography. Clinical application of real-time, wide-angle, transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiography and color flow imaging.

Panoramic transesophageal echocardiography is a new development in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) technology, which yields a wide-angle imaging field for real-time two-dimensional and color flow imaging. We report our early experience in patients with the use of an annular-array TEE probe that provides a wide, 270 degrees angle imaging field for two-dimensional echocardiographic imaging. The field of view can, however, be narrowed to 15 degrees . The field of view for color flow imaging can be varied from 180 degrees to 10 degrees . Pulsed-Doppler recordings of flow velocity are also possible. This TEE system provides a panoramic vision of cardiac and paracardiac structures from the esophagus and stomach. Besides cardiovascular structures, other thoracic and upper abdominal organs can be visualized. The wide field of view allows a better comprehension of the cardiac anatomy and its relationship with adjacent structures. The initial experience suggests that this method, besides providing the usually required diagnostic information, may have a number of additional applications. Its clinical potential and directions for future developments are reviewed.