Multimodality imaging in congenital heart disease

There is a growing body of knowledge regarding the integration of multiple imaging modalities into the care of the patient with congenital heart disease (CHD), from fetuses to adults. Because a single imaging modality often cannot satisfy the clinical needs of the cardiologist, multiple imaging modalities are routinely being used to provide the critical diagnosis. CHD, with its intricate, yet broad anatomical variations, poses unique challenges. Recent and ongoing technological advancements of various clinically employed imaging modalities, including: (1) fetal echocardiography, (2) transthoracic echocardiography, (3) transesophageal echocardiogram, (4) epicardial echocardiography, (5) cardiac computed tomography (CT), (6) cardiac MRI, (7) 3-dimensional (3D) computational cardiac modeling and printing and (8) more recently, virtual reality (VR). These capabilities provides an expanding capacity to characterize each patient's congenital heart disease with utmost precision. This information can be integrated into more precise diagnoses and managements of CHD patients. The chapter highlights examples of integrating multimodality imaging for such patients. We describe the integration of these technologies to create a more optimal clinical workflow, which in turn empower healthcare teams, enhances clinical value as well as guides the education and training of healthcare professionals and the given patient's families.