Abstract
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) involves the passage of a specialized endoscope into the esophagus and stomach to obtain ultrasound images of the heart. The TEE endoscope is equipped with one or more ultrasound transducers at the distal tip of the probe. Each transducer generates a wedge-shaped sector of ultrasound, as shown in Figure 1. The sector of ultrasound illustrated in this diagram is the horizontal or transverse imaging plane, as will be described further below. The major advantage of the transesophageal window for ultrasound imaging is the proximity of the esophagus to the heart. This proximity allows the use of transducers of higher frequency, which have less depth of tissue penetration but are capable of producing images of significantly superior detail and resolution compared to standard transthoracic images. In addition, many of the obstacles to transmission of ultrasound encountered from the transthoracic window such as intervening bone, fresh surgical incisions, or air-filled lungs in patients on a respirator, do not affect imaging from the transesophageal window.
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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O’Connor, W.H. (1994). Transesophageal Echocardiography in Cardiac Surgery. In: Cernaianu, A.C., DelRossi, A.J. (eds) Cardiac Surgery. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2423-6_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2423-6_11
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