[Color-coded 2-dimensional Doppler echocardiography. Initial clinical experiences].

A new technology based on the Doppler principle for ultrasound has recently enabled the real-time visualization of cardiac blood flow by superposition of coloured flow information onto a two-dimensional echocardiogram. This study presents typical flow patterns in standard echocardiographic views, obtained from normal subjects and patients with acquired valvular or congenital heart diseases. Diagnostic possibilities and limitations of colour-coded Doppler echocardiography are discussed.