Validity of automated measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction and volume using the Philips EPIQ system.

PURPOSE: To assess the efficiency and reproducibility of automated measurements of left ventricular (LV) volumes and LV ejection fraction (LVEF) in comparison to manually traced biplane Simpson's method.

METHOD: This is a single-center prospective study. Apical four- and two-chamber views were acquired in patients in sinus rhythm. Two operators independently measured LV volumes and LVEF using biplane Simpson's method. In addition, the image analysis software a2DQ on the Philips EPIQ system was applied to automatically assess the LV volumes and LVEF. Time spent on each analysis, using both methods, was documented. Concordance of echocardiographic measures was evaluated using intraclass correlation (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis.

RESULTS: Manual tracing and automated measurement of LV volumes and LVEF were performed in 184 patients with a mean age of 67.3 ± 17.3 years and BMI 28.0 ± 6.8 kg/m2 . ICC and Bland-Altman analysis showed good agreements between manual and automated methods measuring LVEF, end-systolic, and end-diastolic volumes. The average analysis time was significantly less using the automated method than manual tracing (116 vs 217 seconds/patient, P < .0001).

CONCLUSION: Automated measurement using the novel image analysis software a2DQ on the Philips EPIQ system produced accurate, efficient, and reproducible assessment of LV volumes and LVEF compared with manual measurement.