How to Implement Three-Dimensional Echocardiography in the Routine of the Echocardiography Laboratory

Abstract

The advent of three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) represented a real breakthrough in cardiovascular ultrasound. Major advancements in computer and transducer technology allow to acquire 3D data sets with adequate spatial and temporal resolution for assessing the functional anatomy of cardiac structures in most of cardiac pathologies. Compared to conventional two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) imaging, 3DE allows the operator to visualize the cardiac structures from virtually any perspective, providing a more anatomically sound and intuitive display, as well as an accurate quantitative evaluation of anatomy and function of heart valves. In addition, 3DE overcomes geometric assumptions and enables an accurate quantitative and reproducible evaluation of cardiac chambers, thus offering solid elements for patient management. Furthermore, 3DE is the only imaging technique based on volumetric scanning able to show moving structures in the beating heart, in contrast to cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) or cardiac computed tomography (CT), which are based on post-acquisition 3D reconstruction from multiple tomographic images and displaying only 3D rendered snapshots.