3 Topic Commentaries

Synthetic Echo Motion May Aid ECG Risk Modeling

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  Partho P. Sengupta, MD, DM, FACC, FASE

  Cardiology (Echocardiography, Cardiac Imaging)

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  Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

  ECG is very inexpensive. It’s even present in the Apple Watch, so millions use it constantly. An echocardiogram is about 5 to 10 times more expensive than an ECG because it requires an expert moving an ultrasound device over the patient’s chest for a significant period.

  Source
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  Partho P. Sengupta, MD, DM, FACC, FASE

  Cardiology (Echocardiography, Cardiac Imaging)

  •

  Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

  When risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes or coronary artery disease start affecting the heart muscle, conventional measurements in ECG-detectable changes come very late. The synthetic ultrasound can detect subtle longitudinal changes in heart function long before the pumping fraction decreases. The novelty is not just relying on a change in pumping fraction – also referred to as ejection fraction – but more subtle changes in heart tissue motion.

  Source
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  Partho P. Sengupta, MD, DM, FACC, FASE

  Cardiology (Echocardiography, Cardiac Imaging)

  •

  West Virginia University Heart and Vascular Institute

  This research can be used by internists and physicians for early identification of heart dysfunction and to predict the progression of heart disease in order to help patients take action to improve their cardiac health. We applied machine learning to the results of an electrocardiogram, a common, cost-effective test used by physicians. We can use that data to extract information that would otherwise come from more expensive imaging tests, using the heart’s electrical signals to provide information about the speed with which the heart is squeezing and relaxing.

  Source