Researchers announced results of a new study which demonstrated that smartphone-based mHealth devices, coupled with handheld echocardiography, can provide improved assessment and are readily integrated at the point-of-care for evaluation of patients with structural heart diseases. This study was conducted as part of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) Foundation's Valvular Assessment Leading to Unexplored Echocardiographic Stratagems (VALUES) program, a four-day teaching and research event held at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore, India, August 11-14, 2014. Over the course of several days, researchers assessed patients with multiple forms of rheumatic valvular heart disease with either standard diagnostic equipment or mobile health-based devices.

Researchers announce the results of an early study that shows a fused fluoroscopic/ echocardiographic imaging (FFEI) system is feasible and provides improved guidance of interventional procedures in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. An estimated 40,000 children are born in the United States each year with various forms of Congenital Heart Disease, with at least a quarter of those requiring some type of surgical intervention. The study is being presented at the 2015 American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) June 12- 16, in Boston.