Systematic Fluoroscopic-Echocardiographic Fusion Imaging Protocol for Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair Intraprocedural Monitoring.

DOI: 10.1016/j.echo.2021.01.010
Fluoroscopic-echocardiographic fusion imaging (FI) is able to acquire imaging data from both fluoroscopy and transesophageal images and co-register and align them in the 3D space and time by putting onto the same coordinate system. The aim of this single-center study was to test and validate a FI protocol for intraprocedural monitoring of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair and assess its clinical usefulness. Eighty patients underwent MitraClip implantation using FI guidance (FI+) were compared with the last 80 patients before FI introduction.
The study firstly describes the systematic use of an FI protocol for intraprocedural guidance during transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair, demonstrating a reduction in fluoroscopy time and an improvement in procedural success in a population with a high prevalence of challenging mitral anatomy for percutaneous repair.