3D Echocardiography: From Acquisition to Clinical Decisions

Giulio Menciotti obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Padua, Italy, in 2012. He subsequently pursued a PhD in Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences at the Virginia‑Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM), completing his dissertation in 2017 with a focus on the development and application of three‑dimensional echocardiography. He continued his advanced clinical and academic training at VMCVM through an ACVIM‑Cardiology residency and a Master’s degree, and he is currently the Anne Hunter Professor of Cardiology.

Dr. Menciotti is a Diplomate of both the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology specialty) and a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography. His research program centers on echocardiography, with particular emphasis on three‑dimensional imaging and its clinical and translational applications in canine and feline patients.

He has an established publication record in peer‑reviewed veterinary and cardiovascular imaging journals, contributing original research articles, methodological studies, and clinically focused investigations on cardiac size, function, and geometry using advanced echocardiographic techniques. His work has helped refine quantitative standards, validate novel imaging approaches, and expand the role of three‑dimensional echocardiography in veterinary cardiology. In addition to original research, he has authored and co‑authored review articles and book chapters aimed at translating advanced imaging concepts into clinical practice. Through his scholarly output, Dr. Menciotti contributes to the advancement of cardiovascular imaging and the integration of cutting‑edge echocardiographic technologies into everyday veterinary cardiology.

Associate Professor Ingrid Ljungvall, DVM, PhD, DECVIM-CA (Cardiology), earned her veterinary degree at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden, where she is currently based in the Department of Clinical Sciences. Her main research focus is acquired heart disease in dogs and cats. She is particularly interested in optimizing diagnostic methods, identifying genetic risk factors, and improving prognostication as well as the therapeutic management of cardiac patients. Dr. Ljungvall has authored numerous original research articles published in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as several textbook chapters.

Dr. Joao Orvalho, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology), graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Lisbon, Portugal. He completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at The Ohio State University and a residency in veterinary cardiology at the University of California, Davis. Following his residency, Dr Orvalho joined the UC Veterinary Medical Center - San Diego as a specialist in clinical cardiology. He is especially interested in real time three-dimensional echocardiography and interventional cardiology. 

Dr. I-Jung (Bernard) Chi’s career began in Taipei, Taiwan. He practiced general veterinary medicine and served one year as a military veterinarian after obtaining his DVM degree from National Taiwan University. He then pursued advanced clinical and academic training in the United States to complete his master’s degree, rotating internship, residency, and Doctor of Philosophy in Cardiology at Colorado State University. In 2025, he joined the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts as Assistant Professor in Cardiology.

Dr. Chi’s clinical and academic interests focus on cardiac interventions and multimodality imaging. He specializes in advanced imaging such as cardiac computed tomography, transesophageal echocardiography, and fluoroscopic guidance for cardiac interventions in veterinary patients. Dr. Chi has robust clinical experiences in transcatheter therapies for congenital and acquired heart diseases in dogs and cats. As one of the first investigators of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) of the mitral valve in veterinary cardiology, he helped demonstrate the potential and application of TEER in dogs with advanced degenerative mitral valve disease.

Brianna Potter is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and completed a Small Animal Rotating Internship at Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. She then completed a Cardiology Residency and a 2-year Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Cardiology and is currently an Assistant Professor in Cardiology at Colorado State University. Her interests encompass interventional therapies for congenital and acquired heart disease, with a particular focus on degenerative mitral valve disease, as well as advanced cardiac imaging.