title: Fact or Artifact in Two-Dimensional Echocardiography: Avoiding Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnosis.
abstract: Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography is the most widely used noninvasive imaging modality for the evaluation and diagnosis of cardiac pathology. However, because of the physical properties of ultrasound waves and specifics in ultrasound image reconstruction, cardiologists are often confronted with ultrasound image artifacts. It is particularly important to recognize such artifacts in order to avoid misdiagnosis of conditions ranging from aortic dissection to thrombosis and endocarditis. This overview article summarizes the most common image artifacts encountered in routine clinical practice, along with explanations of their physical mechanisms and guidance in avoiding their misinterpretation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk, Belgium; Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
authors.forename: Philippe B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Aortic Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Isselbacher
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk, Belgium; Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium. Electronic address: pieter.vandervoort@zol.be.
authors.forename: Pieter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Vandervoort
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Artifacts; Echocardiography; Ultrasound physics