The fundamental hypothesis of this project is that real-time intracardiac pressures can be monitored and quantified noninvasively in humans using a novel contrast-enhanced ultrasound technique called subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE).This study will use contrast echocardiography to assess the accuracy of SHAPE compared to simultaneously acquired intracardiac pressures measured invasively during cardiac catheterization. This study is designed to verify that contrast echocardiography using the SHAPE method, already proven in a canine model and tested in a human pilot study can be used as a surrogate for cardiac catheterization with sufficient accuracy to allow clinical applicability in humans.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be scheduled for a cardiac catheterization procedure
• Adult patients over the age of 21
• Acceptable baseline echocardiographic images in the supine position
• If a female of child-bearing potential, must have a negative pregnancy test
• Provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Clinically unstable patients, e.g., those who are clinically in decompensated heart failure or having active chest pain or presenting for admission with an unstable anginal syndrome
• Patients in whom introduction of a catheter into the left ventricle is contraindicated or would potentially be dangerous, e.g., patients with active ventricular arrhythmias or with significant aortic valve stenosis where crossing the aortic valve may be difficult and not clinically necessary
• Patients with anatomic right-to-left, bi-directional, or transient right-to-left cardiac shunts where Definity could traverse as a bolus
• Patients with known hypersensitivity to Definity
• Females who are pregnant or nursing

This project will generate pressure values in the aorta, and left and right ventricles using the proposed research method (i.e., SHAPE) and using the standard of care (i.e., catheter based pressure values). Additionally peripheral and central pressures will be generated. All of the pressure values will be made available. Further, all ultrasound data obtained for SHAPE measurements will be made available after anonymizing the data-set to remove any patient information.

2019-05-30 (anticipated) or starting 6 months after publication

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