Pocket Mobile Echocardiography: Balance Promise with Prudence

Compared with standard transthoracic echocardiography, a pocket device performed well on some measures, but its role in clinical practice is still evolving.

A pocket mobile echocardiography (PME) device is now commercially available. To assess the value of PME for rapid cardiac assessment, investigators at a single center compared quickly acquired PME images with images acquired by standard transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in 97 patients. In all cases, PME images were obtained by the same ultrasonographer who performed TTE and interpreted by two experienced echocardiographers and two cardiology fellows. All interpreters were blinded to the indication for the examination and the TTE result.

All TTE images were adequate for evaluation of left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV and diastolic dimensions, valve structure, and pericardial effusion; one image was inadequate for evaluation of wa…

Reviewing Author

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute