Inter-observer and intra-observer variability
Thirty patients were selected and analyzed by two cardiologists, experienced in TOE and 3D echocardiography, blinded to each other’s results. Intra-observer variability was assessed by repeating measurements of the same patients at different times, whereas inter-observer variability was assessed by analyzing the same patients by two cardiologists. Both variabilities were calculated by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the standard error of measurement. Among all variables provided by the software, 3D area and annulus perimeter were chosen for variability evaluation. Both TTE and TOE AutoMVQ measurements of the 3D area and perimeter demonstrated satisfying intra-observer and inter-observer variability with ICC values of more than 0.78 (table 1).