Three-dimensional quantitation of mitral valve coaptation by a novel software system with transthoracic real-time three-dimensional echocardiography.

We investigated the degree of mitral valve coaptation with a custom quantitation software system using transthoracic three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography. With real-time 3D echocardiography, we obtained transthoracic volumetric images in 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. With our novel software system, the surface area of mitral valve tenting in the onset of mitral leaflet closure [O] and the timing of maximum closure of mitral leaflet [M] were reconstructed for quantitative measurement. The coaptation index was calculated by the following formula: [(3D tenting surface area in O-3D tenting surface area in M)/3D tenting surface area in O]. The coaptation index in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy was significantly smaller than that in healthy subjects (11% +/- 4.1% vs. 18% +/- 8.0%, P = .004). The custom quantitation software system with 3D echocardiography allowed us to assess the degree of mitral valve coaptation.