title: Rapid and accurate assessment of aortic arch atherosclerosis using simultaneous multi-plane imaging by transesophageal echocardiography.
abstract: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used for the evaluation of aortic arch atherosclerosis which carries an increased risk of ischemic stroke. We investigated the feasibility of simultaneous multi-plane imaging by real-time 3-D TEE for the assessment of aortic arch plaques. In 152 patients, we assessed aortic arch plaques and measured their maximum thickness by both conventional TEE imaging and multi-plane TEE imaging. There was excellent correlation and good agreement between the two methods in the measurement of the maximum thickness of arch plaques (r = 0.95, mean difference, -0.1 ± 0.5 mm). The mean image acquisition time required for aortic arch assessment by multi-plane imaging was significantly shorter than that required for conventional imaging in all patients (p < 0.001), especially those with complex plaques. These findings suggest that simultaneous multi-plane TEE imaging enables rapid and accurate evaluation of arch plaques and is therefore a useful tool for the assessment of aortic arch plaques in the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Asahiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugioka
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Suwako
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Akihisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hanatani
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hozumi
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshiyama
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Aortic arch plaques; Simultaneous multi-plane imaging; Transesophageal echocardiography