LV wall motion: from quantitative analysis to knowledge-based understanding

An expert system for computer evaluation of cardiac function from left ventricle (LV) contours is under development. A description of normal and pathological ventricles has been assessed by statistical analysis and fuzzy logic. For this purpose LV contours of 16 normal subjects and 67 patients were manually digitized from RAO cineangiograms on a frame-by-frame or two-frame basis. Wall motion was analyzed with eight known quantitative methods. Regional shape and its dynamic changes were quantified by curvature and Fourier analysis. A rule-based scheme combining partial evidence in order to test clinical hypotheses is proposed.<
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