COLOR DOPPLER VELOCITY IMAGING OF THE MYOCARDIUM

A technique has been developed for producing images of the velocity of tissue motion within the myocardium. It has been demonstrated that Colour Flow Doppler imagers can be operated to depict the velocities within the myocardium rather than moving blood in the cardiac chambers. The technique exhibits the normal advantages of diagnostic ultrasound, i.e., real-time imaging with relatively inexpensive equipment and no hazard to the patient. Further work requires to be done to determine the optimum signal processing algorithms for moving tissue echoes and to ascertain whether the technique is of value in clinical applications.