TEE may use one or more of several special types of echocardiography, as listed below:
M-mode echocardiography. This is the simplest type of echocardiography. It makes an image that is similar to a tracing rather than an actual picture of heart structures. M-mode echo is useful for measuring heart structures, such as the heart’s pumping chambers, the size of the heart itself, and the thickness of the heart walls.
Doppler echocardiography. This Doppler technique is used to assess blood flow through the heart’s chambers and valves. The amount of blood pumped out with each beat is an indication of the hearts functioning. Also, Doppler can detect abnormal blood flow within the heart, which can mean there is a problem with one or more of the heart valves, or with the heart’s walls.
Color Doppler. Color Doppler is an enhanced form of Doppler echocardiography. With color Doppler, different colors are used to designate the direction of blood flow. This simplifies the interpretation of the Doppler technique.
2-D (two-dimensional) echocardiography. This technique is used to view the motion of the heart structures in real time. A 2-D echo view appears cone-shaped on the monitor. It shows the real-time motion of the heart’s structures. This lets the doctor see the various heart structures at work and evaluate them using a single slice or 2-dimensional image.
3-D (three-dimensional) echocardiography. This technique captures three-dimensional views of the heart structures with greater detail than 2-D echo. The real time images allow for a more accurate assessment of heart function by using measurements taken while the heart is beating.