Patent ID: 8224047

Claim:
A method for determining at least one torsion angle of a left ventricle comprising the steps of: collecting three-dimensional ultrasound data of the left ventricle with an ultrasonic imaging system at two points in time during a cardiac cycle to obtain a two-dimensional longitudinal axis view and at least one first short axis two-dimensional view of an anatomical landmark of the heart at a first cardiac phase and a two-dimensional longitudinal axis view and at least one second short-axis two-dimensional view of the anatomical landmark of the heart at a second cardiac phase, wherein the first cardiac phase is at about the beginning of the systolic cardiac phase and the second cardiac phase is at about the end of the systolic cardiac phase; placing at least two tracking points on the anatomical landmark of the first short axis two-dimensional view to draw a first torsion line connecting the tracking points; tracking the at least two tracking points to positions on the anatomical landmark of the second short axis two-dimensional view to draw a second torsion line connecting the tracking points; and calculating the at least one torsion angle by measuring an angle formed by the intersection of the first and second torsion lines.