Transthoracic Echocardiography
The standard echocardiographic examination, performed with the ultrasound probe placed on the patient's chest. The workhorse cardiac imaging study.
TTE uses a transducer applied to the chest wall to image the heart through standard acoustic windows (parasternal, apical, subcostal, suprasternal). A complete adult TTE includes 2D imaging, M-mode, spectral and color Doppler, and produces measurements of chamber size, wall thickness, valvular function, and systolic / diastolic function.
TTE is the first-line cardiac imaging study in almost every clinical scenario, heart failure evaluation, valvular disease surveillance, post-MI assessment, pre-operative cardiac risk stratification, screening for cardiomyopathies, and the most-billed cardiac imaging code in every major reimbursement scheme worldwide.
AI-assisted TTE automates measurement extraction (LVEF, GLS, diastolic-function grading, LV mass) from a complete study, freeing sonographer and cardiologist time for interpretation rather than tracing.