Tetralogy of Fallot in 4D: High frame rate 3D blood flow imaging using ultrasound

Project summary

Patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot are often burdened by blood flow leaking backwards through their pulmonary valve, which can result in heart failure at a young age. Researchers and clinicians do not yet understand how this occurs but believe that measuring the 4-dimensional (3 spatial dimensions and time) blood flow patterns in the heart can help in understanding this process. This research proposes a new ultrasound technique for 4-dimenisonal blood flow imaging that can be used to safely measure the blood flow patterns in these patients, at thousands of volumes per second. The new flow information provided can be used by researchers to understand why valve leaking results in heart failure, and may also be used by clinicians for better surgical planning and decision making.