Ultrasound method for assessing ejection fraction using ultrasound contrast agents

摘要

The preferred embodiments described herein provide a method for assessing ejection fraction by ultrasonically monitoring a region of a ventricle as contrast agent refills the ventricle following an initial imbalance. In one preferred embodiment, contrast agent is first administered into the body, and then the amount of contrast agent in a ventricle is reduced. In subsequent heart cycles, the ventricle draws contrast-agent-filled blood from the atrium, causing the concentration of contrast agent in the ventricle to increase until it is at equilibrium with the concentration of contrast agent in the atrium. By ultrasonically measuring the increase in contrast agent in the ventricle for one or more heart cycles, ejection faction of the ventricle can be determined without manual or automatic edge detection, assumptions about heart shape, or three-dimensional imaging.