Background: Early diastolic left ventricular (LV) filling can be accurately described using the same methods used in\nclassical mechanics to describe the motion of a loaded spring as it recoils, a validated method also referred to as\nthe Parameterized Diastolic Filling (PDF) formalism. With this method, each E-wave recorded by pulsed wave (PW)\nDoppler can be mathematically described in terms of three constants: LV stiffness (k), viscoelasticity (c), and\nload (x0). Also, additional parameters of physiological and diagnostic interest can be derived. An efficient\nsoftware application for PDF analysis has not been available. We aim to describe the structure, feasibility, time\nefficiency and intra-and interobserver variability for use of such a solution, implemented in Echo E-waves, a\nfreely available software application (www.echoewaves.org).\nResults: An application was developed, with the ability to open DICOM files from different vendors, as well as rapid\nsemi-automatic analysis and export of results. E-waves from 20 patients were analyzed by two investigators. Analysis\ntime for a median of 34 (interquartile range (IQR) 29ââ?¬â??42) E-waves per patient (representing 63 %, IQR 56ââ?¬â??79 % of the\nrecorded E-waves per patient) was 4.3 min (IQR 4.0ââ?¬â??4.6 min). Intra-and intraobserver variability was good or excellent\nfor 12 out of 14 parameters (coefficient of variation 2.5ââ?¬â??18.7 %, intraclass correlation coefficient 0.80ââ?¬â??0.99).\nConclusion: Kinematic analysis of diastolic function using the PDF method for Doppler echocardiography\nimplemented in freely available semiautomatic software is highly feasible, time efficient, and has good to\nexcellent intra-and interobserver variability.
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