How accurate is visual assessment of synchronicity in myocardial motion? An In vitro study with computer-simulated regional delay in myocardial motion: clinical implications for rest and stress echocardiography studies.

Asynchronicity in echocardiographic images is normally assessed visually. No prior quantitative studies have determined the limitations of this approach. To quantify visual recognition of myocardial asynchronicity in echocardiographic images, computer-simulated delay phantom loops were generated from a 3.3 MHz digital image data from a normal left ventricular short-axis heart cycle acquired at 55 frames per second. Six expert observers visually assessed 30 abnormal and 3 normal loops with differing computer-induced delay patterns on 3 occasions and in this optimally simulated environment could recognize only single delays of 89 ms or more. This was improved to 71 ms or more by use of side-by-side (normal versus abnormal) comparative review. Thus visual assessment of clinically important regional delay in rest or stress echo images is limited.