Image diagnostics

The entire spectrum of cardiac ultrasound is performed at the USB, such as transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), transesophageal echocardiography (TEE/swallowing ultrasound) and stress echocardiography.

Ultrasound can be used to assess the condition and function of the heart muscle, the heart valves and the vessels supplying and draining the heart.

The following examinations are carried out as required:

• Cardiac ultrasound before operations
• Stress echocardiography
• Swallowing ultrasound examination
• Contrast echocardiography
• Duplex sonography
• 3D echocardiography
• Strain analysis
• Follow-up checks during chemotherapy
• Monitoring during interventional procedures (interventional valve replacement, closure of shunt connections...)
• Complex congenital heart defects

MRI devices with different field strengths (1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla) and the latest protocols are available for examinations at the USB. MRI can be used to assess the condition and function of the heart muscle (pumping function), the heart valves and the vessels leading to and from the heart. The strength of this examination lies, among other things, in the possibility of characterizing tissue in the heart muscle.

The following examinations and assessments are carried out as required:

• Myocarditis, pericarditis
• Myocardial diseases (amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, etc.) Tissue characterization for rare heart diseases
• Stress MRI (circulatory disorders of the heart, scar, tissue characterization)
• Precise flow measurements for heart valve defects, shunt connections, complex heart defects to assess severity
• Complex congenital heart defects (heart anatomy, shunt connections)
• Aortic diseases
• Iron overload in the heart and liver (haemochromatosis)
• Heart tumors, heart blood clots

The University Hospital Basel has modern equipment that enables examinations with low radiation exposure.

The following assessments are carried out as required:

• Diagnosis of coronary artery disease/constriction (non-invasive coronary angiography)
• Determination and quantification of calcifications in the coronary vessels (vessel age)
• Clarification before heart valve replacement surgery
• Function of (mechanical) heart valves
• Aortic diseases
• Complex congenital heart defects (heart anatomy)
• Ventricular function analysis

The University Hospital Basel has a PET/CT and several devices for cardiac scintigraphy, which allow meaningful examinations with low radiation exposure. All of these devices can be used to perform combined examinations of the heart muscle and coronary vessels. This enables a comprehensive assessment of coronary heart disease, especially in people who already have a heart problem. Further examinations can also be carried out for rarer heart diseases.

The following assessments are carried out as required:

• Clarification of coronary heart disease/ problems with the coronary arteries (circulatory disorders of the heart, scars, measurement of cardiac blood flow).
• Hybrid examinations are used to assess coronary vessels (calcifications and constrictions) and myocardium in a complementary manner
• Amyloidosis scintigraphy
• Sarcoidosis and infiltrative diseases
• Heart valve inflammation