High-resolution echocardiography in the assessment of cardiac physiology and disease in preclinical models

Abstract

Key Findings: • What is the topic of this review? This review describes the use of high spatial and temporal resolution ultrasound imaging for the evalution of cardiovascular function. • What advances does it highlight? This short reveiw succintly highlights the advances in the use of high-resolution ultrasound in the assessment of rodent cardiac function, with emphasis on the differences between human and rodent echocardiography and on the main principles involved in completing a successful echocardiographic study in preclinical models. The high temporal and spatial resolution of echocardiography makes it a powerful and reliable tool for the non-invasive study of cardiac phenotype and disease in both adult and embryonic preclinical models. This overview of the use of high-resolution ultrasound for echocardiography highlights the present and potential applications of the technique. © 2013 The Physiological Society.