Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences1028-88801812-5735Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/pjbs.2007.454.461MoladoustHassan Mokhtari-dizajiManijhe Ojaghi-haghighiZahra NoohiFereydon KhaledifarArsalan GrailuHadi 32007103Non-invasive quantitative analysis of the heart walls thickness is a
fundamental step in diagnosis and discrimination of heart disease. Thickness
measurements in 2D echocardiographic images have many applications in
research and clinic for assessing of wall stress, wall thickening and
viability parameters. Regarding to interventricular septum wall thickness
measurement by conventional manual method is more dependent on sonographer
experiment; this encouraged these researchers to develop a semi-automatic
computer algorithm in accessing to interventricular septum segments thickness.
We proposed and carried out a computerized algorithm for wall thickness
measurements in 2D echocardiographic image frames. In this program, wall
thickness measurement is based of intensity profile function and adaptive
bilateral thresholding operation. For validation, thicknesses of septum
base and mid segments were estimated in constituent image frames with
use of proposed method and then were compared with conventional manual
results at same images of the cardiac cycle by statistical methods. In
our sample image frames (240 corresponding segments; with different rang
of image quality), a bias of 0.10 and 0.12 mm with SD differences of ± 0.81
and ± 0.72 mm and correlation coefficients of 0.87 and 0.89 were
found in base and mid segments, respectively. Interobserver variability
using the Computer-Assisted Method (CAM) and Conventional Manual Method
(CMM) were 4.0 and 4.7% for the basal and 2.8 and 3.9% for the middle
segments. The method introduced in the presentstudy permits
precise thickness assessment of base and mid segments of the interventricular
septum wall and has high concordance with CMM.]]>Ahmad, R. and Z. Awan,2004205154Beach, K.W., C.A. Isaac, D.J. Phillips and D.E. Strandness,198915723739Bland, J.M. and D.G. Altman,19861307310Bovik, A.C. and M.D. Desai,20001st Edn.,pp: 37-53pp: 37-53Ceylan, H., N. Narin, K. Tasdemir, T. Tezcaner, O.N. Emirogullari and M. Akcakus,2003458082Chapa, J.B., H.B. Heiberger, L. Weinert, J. DeCara, R.M. Lang and J.U. Hibbard,200510513031308Cwajg, J.M., E. Cwajg, S.F. Nagueh, Z.X. He and U. Qureshi et al.,20003511521161Duan, Q., E.D. Angelini, S.L. Herz, C.M. Ingrassia and O. Gerard et al.,200557159169Forcer, T. and A.F. Parisi,19863319331Giachetti, A.,19982261284Grossman, W., D. Jones and L.P. McLaurin,1975565664Henry, W.L., A. DeMaria, R. Gramiak, D.L. King and J.A. Kisslo et al.,198062212217Kass, M., A. Witkin and D. Terzopoulos,19881321331Kanai, H., H. Hasegawa, N. Chubachi, Y. Koiwa and M. Tanaka,199744752768Khojastepour, M.A., B. Aazhang and R.G. Baraniuk,20042004pp: 897900Kushwaha, S.S., J.T. Fallon and V. Fuster,1997336267275Lang, R.M., M. Bierig, R.B. Devereux, F.A. Flachskamp and E. Foster et al.,20051814401463Mokhtari-Dizaji, M., M. Montazeri and H. Saberi,20063214931498Pignoli, P., E. Tremoli, A. Poli, P. Oreste and R. Paoletti,19867413991406Shipton, B. and H. Wahba,20016322012208Skorton, D.J., S.M. Collins, E. Garcia, E.A. Geiser and W. Hilard et al.,198511012661283Smith, S.W.,20032003Traill, T.A., D.G. Gibson and D.J. Brown,197871314320Waggoner, A.D. and C. Davis,199511285299Xu, C. and J.L. Prince,19987359369Yao, W., J. Tian, B. Zhao, N. Chen and G. Qian,200430943951Zoghbi, W.A., M.E. Sarano, E. Foster, P.A. Grayburn and R.A. Levine et al.,200316777802