Recent Advances in 2D Echocardiography and Live 3D Echo

Echocardiography is the most common diagnostic tool for patients with heart disease, providing detailed information about cardiovascular morphology and hemodynamics previously available only by angiography and catheterization. It is noninvasive, widely available and inexpensive. With its huge evidence base, echocardiography has a central position in modern cardiac diagnosis and management. Recent advances in computer technology, signal processing, and transducer design have allowed echocardiography to expand its capabilities beyond qualitative two-dimensional (2D) imaging and blood flow Doppler analysis. New modalities such as three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to evaluate parameters such as ventricular volume, myocardial velocity, regional strain and strain rate, mechanical dyssynchrony, and ventricular twist have all provided new insights into cardiovascular morphology and ventricular function. Successful translation of these advances into clinical practice will show that these new techniques are complimentary and in some cases competitive with the new imaging methodologies. This review discusses the recent advances and their potential impact of cardiology.