Digital angiocardiography and echocardiography: fundamentals and future aspects.

Digital techniques of image data acquisition, processing and analysis were developed relatively early in cardiology but their broad clinical application lags behind the use of similar methods in angiography, even though these techniques have shown their advantages in reducing contrast material and X-ray dose, in quantitative evaluation of circulatory parameters and in high quality real-time electronic image storage. Recent developments in the fields of angiocardiographic image acquisition, in image processing and in the design of advanced digital processors are reported. The possibilities for an integration of echocardiographic imagery (especially of echo contrast studies) into angiocardiographic image processing are discussed. Medical and technological research is needed to define still more precisely the medical needs and to improve the technical means for digital angiocardiography and echocardiography.