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A ‘holistic’ sonographic view on congenital heart disease – how semiautomatic reconstruction eases the unveiling of abnormal cardiac anatomy part I: right heart anomalies
  • Jan Weichert,
  • Alexander Weichert
Jan Weichert
University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Alexander Weichert
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Campus Charite Mitte
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Abstract

Attempting a comprehensive examination of the fetal heart remains challenging for unexperienced operators as it emphasizes the acquisition and documentation of sequential cross-sectional and sagittal views and inevitably results in diminished detection rates of fetuses affected by congenital heart disease. The introduction of three-/four-dimensional spatial-temporal image correlation 3D/4D STIC technology facilitated a volumetric approach for thorough cardiac anatomic evaluation by the acquisition of cardiac 4D datasets by analyzing and correlating numerous images from different heart cycles obtained during an automated sweep and subsequently displaying them in an endless cine loop sequence. However, postanalysis with manipulation and repeated slicing of the volume usually requires experience and in-depth anatomic knowledge, which limits the widespread application of this advanced technique in clinical care and unfortunately leads to the underestimation of its diagnostic value to date. Fetal intelligent navigation echocardiography (FINE), a novel method that automatically generates and displays 9 standard fetal echocardiographic views in normal hearts, has shown to be able to overcome these limitations. Very recent data on the detection of congenital heart defects (CHDs) revealed a sensitivity and specificity of 98 % and 93 %, respectively. In this two-part manuscript, we focused on the performance of FINE in delineating abnormal anatomy of typical right and left heart lesions and thereby emphasized the educational potential of this technology for more than just teaching purposes. We further discussed recent findings regarding these morphological changes seen in a pathophysiological and/or functional context.
18 Sep 2020Submitted to Echocardiography
18 Sep 2020Submission Checks Completed
18 Sep 2020Assigned to Editor
19 Sep 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
11 Nov 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
13 Nov 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Major
29 Dec 20201st Revision Received
29 Dec 2020Submission Checks Completed
29 Dec 2020Assigned to Editor
29 Dec 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
27 Jan 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
09 Feb 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
27 Feb 20212nd Revision Received
01 Mar 2021Submission Checks Completed
01 Mar 2021Assigned to Editor
01 Mar 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
29 Mar 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
18 Apr 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
18 Apr 20213rd Revision Received
19 Apr 2021Assigned to Editor
19 Apr 2021Submission Checks Completed
19 Apr 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
31 May 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
01 Jun 2021Editorial Decision: Accept