Research Studies at UBC VGH AI Echo Core Lab

Research Studies at VGH Echo Lab

The AI Echo Core Lab conducts a broad range of research studies including clinical trials, imaging-based clinical studies, and development and validation of machine learning-based cardiac ultrasounds models for automated image interpretation.

Current Research Studies

Complete TAVR

Staged Complete Revascularization for Coronary Artery Disease vs Medical Management Alone in Patients With AS Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Automated LVEF

Automated LVEF in Heart Function Clinic: AI-augmented point of care ultrasound.

Validating the user of an Artificial Intelligence application to assess image quality and left ventricular ejection fraction in echocardiography, a prospective analysis.

Big data and artificial intelligence for risk stratification of patients with COVID-19 symptoms using heart-lung ultrasound.

Point of Care Heart-Lung Imaging

Point of Care heart-lung imaging for patients presenting with COVID-19 symptoms:

artificial intelligence precision modeling for prediction of outcomes. Artificial intelligence models for enhancement of LV assessment.

Beyond Atrial Fibrillation

Using Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Imaging to improve Stroke Risk Assessment and Management.

Prevalence and Progression of Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients with Longstanding Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Fabry Disease Screening

Fabry Disease Screening in the Echo Lab: Dried blood spot testing to screen for Fabry disease in patients with increased LV wall thickness identified in the echo lab.

Information Fusion for Echocardiography (INFUSE)

A Novel Platform for Automatic Analysis of Echocardiography Data at Any Point-Of-Care.

Canadian Heart Function Alliance Network

Pan-Canadian, patient-driven research network for projects that improve the prediction, prevention, diagnosis,

and management of HF. The AI Echo Core Lab is the major imaging hub for the “Access Team” and partner for the “Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence Theme” projects for the network. Click here to learn more.

Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is a large, national, long-term study of more than 50,000 individuals

who were between the ages of 45 and 85 when recruited. These participants will be followed until 2033 or death. The AI Echo Core Lab will support the interpretation of cardiac imaging for 30,000 individuals.

News

Teresa Tsang was awarded the 2023 Canadian Society of Echocardiography Annual Achievement Award. The CSE Annual Achievement Award recognizes Canadian health care professionals who have made significant contributions to echocardiography in terms of leadership, teaching or research.

Publications

Jiang R, Yeung DF, Behnami D, Luong C, Tsang MYC, Jue J, Gin K, Nair P, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang TSM. A Novel Continuous Left Ventricular Diastolic Function Score Using Machine Learning. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2022;35:1247-1255. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2022.06.005

Mahdavi M, Vaseli H, Luong C, Van Woudenberg N, Jafari M, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Differential Learning from Sparse and Noisy Labels for Robust Detection of Clinical Landmarks in Echo Cine Series. In: Simplifying Medical Ultrasound. Springer International Publishing; 2022:44-53.

Kang X, Jafari M, Kazemi MM, Luong C, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. A light-weight deep video network: towards robust assessment of ejection fraction on mobile devices. SPIE; 2022.

Goco JAD, Jafari M, Luong C, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. An efficient deep landmark detection network for PLAX EF estimation using sparse annotations. SPIE; 2022.

Chang SA, Yim J, Yeung DF, Gin K, Jue J, Nair P, Tsang MYC, Kelliher E, Tsang TSM. Relationship between enlarged cardiac silhouette on chest X-ray and left ventricular size on transthoracic echocardiography. The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging. 2022;38:771-776. doi: 10.1007/s10554-021-02465-z

Blume GG, Lechinewski LD, Vieira IP, Clausell N, Bertinato GP, Machado-Júnior PAB, Berro PG, Moura LAZ, Tsang T. Handheld Echocardiography in a Clinical Practice Scenario: Concordances Compared to Standard Echocardiographic Reports. Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging. 2022;30:25. doi: 10.4250/jcvi.2020.0241

Yim J, Gin K, Tsang TSM, Luong C, Lehman A, Ong K, Tsang MYC, Jue J, Nair P, Nasmith T, et al. Incidentally identified left ventricular apical aneurysm in a patient with Fabry disease. Echocardiography. 2022;39:1131-1137. doi: 10.1111/echo.15412

Jafari MH, Luong C, Tsang M, Gu AN, Van Woudenberg N, Rohling R, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. U-LanD: Uncertainty-Driven Video Landmark Detection. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. 2022;41:793-804. doi: 10.1109/tmi.2021.3123547

Ginsberg T, Tal R-E, Tsang M, Macdonald C, Dezaki FT, Van Der Kuur J, Luong C, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Deep Video Networks for Automatic Assessment of Aortic Stenosis in Echocardiography. In: Simplifying Medical Ultrasound. Springer International Publishing; 2021:202-210.

Luong C, Saboktakin Rizi S, Gin K, Jue J, Yeung DF, Tsang MYC, Sayre EC, Tsang TSM. Prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction by single echocardiographic view: towards an evidence-based point of care cardiac ultrasound scanning protocol. The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging. 2021. doi: 10.1007/s10554-021-02460-4

Moghaddam N, Swiston J, Tsang M, Levy R, Lee L, Brunner N. Impact of targeted pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy in patients with combined post- and precapillary pulmonary hypertension. The American heart journal. 2021;235:74-81.

Luong C, Kim J, Wong G, Klein R, and Brunner N. Loculated Pericardial Effusion: An uncommon cause of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. JACC: Case Reports.2021;3:128-132.

Yeung D, Jiang R, Behnami D, Jue J, Sharma R, Turaga M, Luong C, Tsang M, Gin K, Girgis H, Lee P, Nair P, Abolmaesumi P and Tsang T. Impact of the updated diastolic function guidelines in the real world. International journal of cardiology. 2021;326:124-130.

Ng T, Leblanc K, Yeung D, Tsang T. Medication use during COVID-19: Review of recent evidence. Canadian family physician. 2021;67:171-179.

Almufleh A, Lee C, Tsang M, Gin K, Tsang T, Nair P. The Need for Telemedicine Integration Into Adult Cardiology Training Curricula in Canada. Canadian journal of cardiology. 2021;37:929-932.

Yau O, Gin K, Luong C, Jue J, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang M, Nair P, and Tsang T. Point‐of‐care ultrasound in the COVID‐19 era: A scoping review. Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.). 2021;2020;38:329-342.

Luong C, Liao Z, Abdi A, Girgis H, Rohling R, Gin K, Jue J, Yeung D, Szefer E, Thompson D, Tsang M, Lee P, Nair P, Abolmaesumi P, and Tsang T. Automated estimation of echocardiogram image quality in hospitalized patients. The international journal of cardiovascular imaging. 2021;37:229-239.

Yim J, Yau O, Yeung D, Tsang T. Fabry Cardiomyopathy: Current Practice and Future Directions. Cells (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;10:1532.

Luong C, Saboktakin Rizi S, Gin K, Jue J, Yeung D, Tsang M, Sayre E, and Tsang T. Prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction by single echocardiographic view: towards an evidence-based point of care cardiac ultrasound scanning protocol. International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-021-02460-4.

Dezaki FT, Luong C, Ginsberg T, Rohling R, Gin K, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Echo-SyncNet: Self-Supervised Cardiac View Synchronization in Echocardiography. IEEE transactions on medical imaging. 2021;40:2092-2104.

Yim J, Yau O, Yeung D, Tsang T. Fabry Cardiomyopathy: Current Practice and Future Directions. Cells (Bael, Switzerland). 2021;10:1532.

Andrade J, Yao R, Deyell M, Hawkins N, Rizkallah J, Jolly U, Khoo C, Raymond J, McKinney J, Cheung C, Steinberg C, Ha A, Ramanathan K, Luong C, Glover B, Verma A, Macle L, Khairy P and Investigators C-DS. Clinical assessment of AF pattern is poorly correlated with AF burden and post ablation outcomes: A CIRCA-DOSE sub-study. J Electrocardiol. 2020;60:159-164.

Yeung D, Miu W, Turaga M, Tsang M, Tsang T, Jue J, Lee P, Nair P, Gin K. Incidentally Discovered Left Atrial Appendage Aneurysm Managed Conservatively. Heart, lung & circulation. 2020;29:e53-e55.

Andrade JG, Aguilar M, Atzema C, Bell A, Cairns J, Cheung C, Cox J, Dorian P, Gladstone D, Healey J, Khairy P, Leblanc K, McMurty M, Mitchell L, Nair G, Nattel S, Parkash R, Pilote L, Sandhu R, Sarrazin J, Sharma M, Skanes A, Talajic M, Tsang T, et al. The 2020 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Comprehensive Guidelines for the Management of Atrial Fibrillation. Canadian journal of cardiology. 2020;36:1847-1948.

Jafari M, Girgis H, Van Woudenberg N, Moulson N, Luong C, Fung A, Balthazaar S, Jue J, Tsang M, Nair P, Gin K, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Cardiac point-of-care to cart-based ultrasound translation using constrained CycleGAN. International journal for computer assisted radiology and surgery. 2020;15:877-886.

Liao Z, Girgis H, Abdi A, Vaseli H, Hetherington J, Rohling R, Gin K, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. On Modelling Label Uncertainty in Deep Neural Networks: Automatic Estimation of Intra-observer Variability in 2D Echocardiography Quality Assessment. IEEE transactions on medical imaging. 2019;2020;39:1868-1883.

Behnami D, Luong C, Vaseli H, Girgis H, Abdi A, Hawley D, Gin K, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P and Tsang T. Automatic cine-based detection of patients at high risk of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in echocardiograms. Computer methods in biomechanics and biomedical engineering. 2020;8:502-508.

Kazemi Esfeh M, Luong C, Behnami D, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. A deep bayesian video analysis framework: Towards a more robust estimation of ejection fraction. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2020:582-590.

Wood D, Sathananthan J, Gin K, et al. Precautions and Procedures for Coronary and Structural Cardiac Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guidance from Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology. Canadian journal of cardiology. 2020;36:780-783.

Saw J, Gilhofer T, Yeung D, Tsang M. TCT-379 First Experience With the ExpanSure Dilation System to Streamline Transseptal Puncture for Left Atrial Appendage Closure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2019;74:B376-B376.

Yeung D, Kiamanesh O, Girgis H, Hong J, Turaga M, Gin K, Wong G, Janusz M, Tsang M, Tsang T, Nair P, and Jue J. Rupture of a Coronary Artery Aneurysm and Fistula to the Pulmonary Artery. Circulation. Cardiovascular imaging. 2019;12:e009516-e009516.

Luong C, Ong K, Kaila K, Pellikka PA, Gin K, Tsang T. Focused Cardiac Ultrasonography: Current Applications and Future Directions. Journal of ultrasound in medicine. 2019;38:865-876.

Davis MK, Villa D, Tsang T, Starovoytov A, Gelmon K, Virani SA. Effect of Eplerenone on Diastolic Function in Women Receiving Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer. JACC: CardioOncology. 2019;1:295-298.

Taheri Dezaki F, Liao Z, Luong C, Girgis H, Dhungel N, Abdi A, Behnami D, Gin K, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Cardiac Phase Detection in Echocardiograms With Densely Gated Recurrent Neural Networks and Global Extrema Loss. IEEE transactions on medical imaging. 2019;38:1821-1832.

Behnami D, Liao Z., Girgis H, Luong C, Rohling R, Gin K, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. Dual-view joint estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction with uncertainty modelling in echocardiograms. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019:696-704.

Liao Z, Jafari M, Girgis H, Gin K, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Echocardiography view classification using quality transfer star generative adversarial networks. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019:687-695.

Taheri Dezaki F, Girgis H, Rohling R, Gin K, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Frame rate up-conversion in echocardiography using a conditioned variational autoencoder and generative adversarial model. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019:705-713.

Jafari M, Girgis H, Van Woudenberg N, Liao Z, Rohling R, Gin K, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Automatic biplane left ventricular ejection fraction estimation with mobile point-of-care ultrasound using multi-task learning and adversarial training. International journal for computer assisted radiology and surgery. 2019;14:1027-1037.

Yeung D, Johnston A, Simmons C, Goddard K, Dewar L, Yee J, Kelliher E, Tsang M, Gin K, Jue J, Nair P, Lee P, and Tsang T. Multimodality imaging of a pulmonary artery sarcoma. Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.). 2018;35:123-125.

Choi HJS, Luong C, Fung A, Tsang T. ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Coronary Ectasia: A Case Report. Diseases. 2018;6:104.

Yeung D, Sirrs S, Tsang M, Gin K, Luong C, Jue J, Nair P, Lee P, Tsang T. Echocardiographic Assessment of Patients with Fabry Disease. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. 2018;31:639-649.e2.

Andrade J, MacGillivray J, Macle L, Yao R, Bennett M, Fordyce C, Hawkins N, Krahn A, Jue J, Ramanathan K, Tsang T, Gin G, and Deyell M. Clinical effectiveness of a systematic “pill-in-the-pocket” approach for the management of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Heart rhythm. 2018;15:9-16.

Behnami D, Luong C, Vaseli H, Abdi A, Girgis H, Hawley D, Rohling R, Gin K, Abolmaesumi P, Tsang T. Automatic Detection of Patients with a High Risk of Systolic Cardiac Failure in Echocardiography. In: Stoyanov D. et al. (eds) Deep Learning in Medical Image Analysis and Multimodal Learning for Clinical Decision Support. DLMIA 2018, ML-CDS 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11045. Springer, Cham

Van Woudenberg N, Liao Z, Abdi A, Girgis H, Luong C, Vaseli H, Behnami D, Zhang H, Gin K, Rohling R, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. Quantitative echocardiography: Real-time quality estimation and view classification implemented on a mobile android device. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2018:74-81.

Attar R, Thompson D, Gin K, Jue J, Nair P, Tsang M, Lee P, Bennett M, Tsang T. Abstract 15091: Re-Defining Electrocardiographic Criteria for Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: An ECG-Echo Study of 27,564 Patients. Circulation (New York, N.Y.). 2018;138:A15091-A15091.

Prevalence and Progression of Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients With Longstanding Persistent Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation (New York, N.Y.). 2018;138:A15173-A15173.

Tong CKW, Nair P, Jue J, Gin K, Lee P, Szefer E, Thompson D, Tsang M, Tsang T. Abstract 12520: Risk Stratification of Moderate Sized Pericardial Effusion: VGH Pericardiocentesis Prediction Score. Circulation (New York, N.Y.). 2018;138:A12520-A12520.

Jafari M, Girgis H, Liao Z, Behnami D, Abdi A, Vaseli H, Luong C, Rohling R, Gin K, Tsang T, Abolmaesumi P. A Unified Framework Integrating Recurrent Fully-Convolutional Networks and Optical Flow for Segmentation of the Left Ventricle in Echocardiography Data. In: Stoyanov D. et al. (eds) Deep Learning in Medical Image Analysis and Multimodal Learning for Clinical Decision Support. DLMIA 2018, ML-CDS 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11045. Springer, Cham

Luong C, Starovoytov A, Heydari M, Sedlak T, Aymong E, Saw J. Clinical presentation of patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection: Clinical Presentation of Patients with SCAD. Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions. 2017;89:1149-1154.

Luong C, Abdi A, Tsang T, Alan G, Nouranian S, Jue J, Hawley D, Fleming S, Gin K, Swift J, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P. Automatic Quality Assessment of Echocardiograms Using Convolutional Neural Networks: Feasibility on the Apical Four-Chamber View. IEEE transactions on medical imaging. 2017;36:1221-1230.

Allan G, Nouranian S, Tsang T, Seitel A, Mirian M, Jue J, Hawley D, Fleming S, Gin K, Swift J, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P. Simultaneous Analysis of 2D Echo Views for Left Atrial Segmentation and Disease Detection. IEEE transactions on medical imaging. 2017;36:40-50.

Spencer R, Gin K, Tsang M, Tsang T, Nair P, Lee P, Jue J. Doppler Parameters Derived from Transthoracic Echocardiography Accurately Detect Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve Dysfunction. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. 2017;30:966-973.e1.

Abdi AH, Luong C, Tsang T, et al. Quality assessment of echocardiographic cine using recurrent neural networks: Feasibility on five standard view planes. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017:302-310.

Dezaki F, Dhungel N, Abdi H, Luong C, Tsang T, Jue J, Gin K, Hawley D, Rohling R, Abolmaesumi P. Deep residual recurrent neural networks for Characterisation of cardiac cycle phase from echocardiograms. In: Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017:100-108.

Luong C, Thompson D, Gin K, Jue J, Nair P, Lee P, Tsang M, Barnes M, Colley P, Tsang T. Usefulness of the Atrial Emptying Fraction to Predict Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm After Direct Current Cardioversion for Atrial Fibrillation. The American journal of cardiology. 2016;118:1345-1349.

Tang A, Eng J, Krassioukov A, Tsang T, Liu-Ambrose T. High- and low-intensity exercise do not improve cognitive function after stroke: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of rehabilitation medicine. 2016;48:841-846.

Macle L, MD, Cairns J, MD, Leblanc K, Tsang T et al. 2016 Focused Update of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines for the Management of Atrial Fibrillation. Canadian journal of cardiology. 2016;32:1170-1185.

Varshney R, Chamberlain M, Rayner‐Hartley E, Kelliher E, Lee A, Cook R, Fung A, Gin K, Nair P, Tsang T. Rapidly growing cardiac mass: a rare case of left atrial intramural hematoma complicating coronary artery stenting. Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.). 2016;33:1605-1607.

Abdi A, Jue J, Abolmaesumi P, Fleming S, Luong C, Tsang T. Automatic quality assessment of echo apical 4-chamber images using computer deep learning. Circulation (New York, N.Y.). 2016;134.

Tong C, Gin K, Jue J, Lee P, Nair P, Szefer E, Thompson D, Tsang M, Tsang T. Abstract 16374: The Vancouver General Hospital Pericardial Effusion Risk Index. Circulation (New York, N.Y.). 2016;134:A16374-A16374.

Our faculty are dedicated to achieving unparalleled quality assurance.

Contact Us

VGH UBC Echo Lab and Artificial Intelligence Echo Core Lab respectfully acknowledge that our space is located on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nations, the traditional custodians of these lands.

Address
889 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC,
V5Z 1M9
Canada

Email
[email protected]

Phone
604-875-4800