Abstract
Three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound now offers a method to overcome former limitations of two-dimensional (2-D) Doppler. Important 3-D areas include the spatial delineation of the patency and pathways of blood vessels as well as the measurement of flow in them. In our laboratory a variety of 3-D uses has been investigated: detection and mapping of coronary arteries (3-D power Doppler, in vitro), mitral valve regurgitation (3-D color Doppler, in vitro and in vivo), and gastric flow (3-D color Doppler, in vivo). Several different 3-D approaches have been applied and results will be presented. However, in the future, it is believed that direct flow measurement can be achieved. Flow is equal to the integral of the velocities normal to a surface that cuts through a flow field. An arc of constant radius in a 2-D-sector scanner will inscribe an arc of a spherical surface, if rotated around the origin of the sector (e.g., multiplane transesophageal echocardiogram). The pulsed Doppler signals along the circumference of the inscribed arc represent the velocities normal to that surface. Integration of these velocities should provide direct measurement of the flow field cutting this inscribed surface. Algorithms for testing this strategy are under development.
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