Detection of natural mechanical waves in the heart using Directional Clutter Filter Wave Imaging (DCFWI)

In recent years, several studies highlighted a correlation between increased propagation velocity of Mechanical Waves (MWs) in the myocardium and clinical conditions such as myocardial fibrosis. In the attempt to improve MW detection, Clutter Filter Wave Imaging (CFWI) was recently proposed as an alternative to Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI). In two preliminary studies, CFWI showed higher feasibility compared to TDI and good correlation with MRI. However, positive and negative tissue velocities cannot be separated, which can complicate the detection of MWs. In the attempt to address this limitation, we propose Directional CFWI (DCFWI), a method that retains the higher sensitivity of CFWI while preserving the directional information offered by TDI. Preliminary results indicate that DCFWI is a method that retains improved wave detection of CFWI while also providing better Aortic Valve Closure (AVC) wave detection and providing directional information as in TDI, motivating further analysis.