Three-dimensional Echocardiography

Die HerausgeberThomas Buck, MD, FACC, FESCThomas Buck is Associate Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at the University Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Since 2014, he is Director of the Department of Cardiology of the Klinikum Westfalen in Dortmund, Germany. Prior to this at the University Hospital Essen, he held the position of Director of Echocardiography Laboratories as well as the appointments of Chief Consultant and Assistant Director of the Department of Cardiology at the West German Heart Center. Since the beginning of his academic career in 1992, 3D echocardiography has been a major field of his scientific interest. One of his primary clinical areas of expertise is the management of heart valve disease patients, where his early scientific work was stimulated while working as a Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA. As one of his official assignments, he was the Chair of the German Working Group of Echocardiography from 2005–2011. In addition to a considerable number of scientific articles and clinical guidelines, his work includes several teaching book contributions and international patents in the field of echocardiography. Since the introduction of real-time 3D echocardiography into clinical practice, he has regularly organized national and international training courses as an expert trainer.Andreas Franke, MD, FESCAndreas Franke is Associate Professor of Medicine and Cardiology and Director of the Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Intensive Care Medicine of the Klinikum Siloah in Hannover, Germany. During his clinical and academic career starting in 1988 at the RWTH Technical University Aachen, Germany, echocardiography and congenital heart disease in adults have been his main fields of scientific interest and work. His primary clinical areas of expertise besides non-invasive cardiac imaging are the interventional therapy of coronary artery disease and the management ofvalvular disease. Since the early 1990s, he has been involved in further development of 3D echocardiography and has published numerous clinical studies on the topic. Between 1998 and 2001, he was a nucleus member of the Working Group on Echocardiography of the ESC as an organizer of the subgroup 3D echocardiography. Over the last 15 years, he also contributed to several textbooks and atlases on echocardiography. Moreover, since 2003 he regularly organizes national real-time 3D echocardiographic training courses as an expert trainer.Mark J. Monaghan PhD, FRCP(Hon), FACC, FESCMark J. Monaghan is a Professor of Echocardiography, Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology and Associate Medical Director at King’s College Hospital, London UK. He has worked in the field of echocardiography for over 25 years and has published extensively on the subject, especially on the use of 3D. In addition, he holds two international patents on echocardiographic technology and lectures widely at international meetings and cardiology conferences throughout the world. He runs several teaching courses and workshops on 3D echocardiography every year and has contributed to and co-edited several textbooks. Professor Monaghan has been a board member of the European Association of Echocardiography and is a past President of the British Society of Echocardiography.