Echocardiographic strain imaging was introduced by Heimdal et al in 19981 as a means to calculate myocardial regional function from tissue Doppler velocity data.2,3 Strain imaging is a variation of the previous concept of tissue Doppler myocardial velocity gradient, which calculates regional thickening independent of passive whole heart motion.4,5 Because routine clinical evaluation of regional...

In this chapter an introduction will be given to the research areas of high-speed laser Doppler perfusion imaging and laser speckle contrast techniques. Furthermore, the aim of the performed research will be introduced, and finally an overview of the topics in this thesis will be given. 1.1 General Introduction Noninvasive imaging of blood flow in tissue is of major importance for certain appli...

Accurate quantification and timing of regional myocardial function allows early identification of dysfunction, and therefore becomes increasingly important for clinical risk assessment, patient management, and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. For this purpose, the application of tissue Doppler echocardiography has rapidly increased. However, echocardiography has some major inherent limitatio...