title: Mitral annular nonplanarity: correlation between annular height/commissural width ratio and the nonplanarity angle.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare two methods of mitral annular nonplanarity: the mathematically calculated annular height-to-commissural width ratio (AHCWR) and the echocardiographically derived nonplanarity angle.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care university hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients undergoing mitral valve surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography, volumetric datasets were acquired from 22 patients undergoing mitral valve surgery. The intraoperative nonplanarity angle was calculated with Mitral Valve Assessment software (Tomtec GmbH, Munich, Germany). Furthermore, the datasets acquired during 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography were exported to Matlab software (MathWorks, Natick, MA), which was used to calculate the AHCWR. The nonplanarity angle was seen to correlate favorably with the AHCWR (r = 0.70).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A favorable correlation was found between the nonplanarity angle and the AHCWR. This suggests that the nonplanarity angle can be used to assess mitral annular nonplanarity in a clinically feasible fashion.
authors: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. hwarraic@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors: Haider J
authors: HJ
authors: Warraich
authors: Bilal
authors: B
authors: Chaudary
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Maslow
authors: Peter J
authors: PJ
authors: Panzica
authors: Jacob
authors: J
authors: Pugsley
authors: Feroze
authors: F
authors: Mahmood
mesh_terms: D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies