New non-invasive imaging techniques to quantify ventricular function: reappraisal of dobutamine stress echocardiography

Abstract

This thesis is an insight investigation in some recently developed noninvasive imaging advances to quantitatively assess left or right ventricular function. The focus is on dobutamine stress echocardiography, with some reference to a recently developed nuclear imaging technique: Technetium-tetrofosmin-fluorodeoxyglucose- single photon emission computcd tomography (FDGSPECT). Among many attempts to pass from a subjective and qualitative to an objective and quantitative evaluation of ventricular function we analyzed Doppler tissue imaging. Left vcntricular ftmction, as stimulated by dobutaminc, was studied by applying Doppler tissue imaging as a test on myocardial ischemia and contractile reserve, the latter being even more subjected to interobserver variability, than the assessment of myocardial ischemia