Ultrasonic tissue characterization: integrated backscatter imaging for detecting myocardial structural properties and on-line quantitation of cardiac function.

Quantitative myocardial tissue characterization is being developed as an adjunct to conventional echocardiography to delineate the physical state of myocardium under diverse pathophysiological states. Real-time quantitative integrated backscatter imaging has made possible clinical investigations carried out in the United States, Europe, and Japan in patients with ischemic heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and cardiac allograft rejection, among others. A modification of the imaging processing used for characterization of tissue facilitates automatic detection of endocardial blood interfaces and on-line quantification of ventricular size and function, which has been recently introduced in clinical practice. Further progress and developments in quantitative ultrasonic imaging will place in perspective the clinical use of tissue characterization based on myocardial backscatter.