ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze left ventricular(LV) and right ventricular(RV) myocardial function in fetuses,quantitative tissue velocity imaging (QTVI) was used to detect myocardial performance index (Tei index).Methods The study group consisted of 77 second and third trimester conceived normal fetuses.The isovolumic relaxation time (IRT) + isovolumic contraction time (ICT) and ejection time (ET) of LV,RV and internal ventricular septum were obtained by QTVI.Tei indexes were calculated using the formula (IRT+ICT)/ET.Results The fetal IRT+ICT,ET and Tei index can be easily obtained in all fetuses.There was no significant difference for LV and RV Tei index (LV: 0.49 ? 0.10 ;RV: 0.50 ? 0.13 ).The IRT + ICT and ET were inversely proportional to fetal heart rate.The Tei index,however,appeared to be independent of fetal heart rate and of gestation age.Conclusions QTVI provides a new,easily obtainable and reproducible measure to assess fetal ventricular function.