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Comparative study of high-resolution microimaging with 30-MHz scanner for evaluating cardiac function in mice.

Okajima K, Abe Y, Fujimoto K, Fujikura K, Girard EE, Asai T, Kwon SH, Jin Z, Nakamura Y, Yoshiyama M, Homma S

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA. OkajimaKazue@aol.com

BACKGROUND: The accurate assessment of cardiac function in mice is challenging because of their small heart size and rapid heart rate. METHODS: We examined the usefulness of novel high-resolution echocardiography (HRE) with a 30-MHz transducer in evaluating cardiac function in 20 mice compared with conventional echocardiography (CE) with a 13-MHz transducer. The left ventricular (LV) regional wall motion (RWM), LV end-diastolic dimension, fractional shortening, anterior LV wall thickness, E/A, and myocardial performance index were assessed. RESULTS: RWM analysis was more feasible by HRE than by CE (P < .05). Interobserver agreement in RWM analysis and correlation in LV end-diastolic dimension, fractional shortening, anterior LV wall thickness, E/A, and myocardial performance index were all better with HRE than CE. CONCLUSIONS: HRE is superior to CE in assessing LV function in mice. HRE is potentially a useful method for accurate assessment of cardiac function in various mice models.

Published 2 October 2007 in J Am Soc Echocardiogr, 20(10): 1203-10.
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