Three dimensional ultrasound: abnormalities of the fetal face in surface and volume rendering mode

Abstract

Objective To evaluate three dimensional ultrasound in surface and volume rendering mode in fetal malformations of the face. Setting Day assessment unit in a university hospital. Subjects Four cases have been examined: two cases represented cleft lip, one case was a male with trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) with proboscis, and one case represented a male fetus with unilateral anophthalmia. Conclusion A new technique of three dimensional ultrasound visualisation in fetal malformation using surface and volume rendering is presented. The equipment consisted of a commercially available ultrasound machine, a built‐in graphic workstation, and three dimensional software. Post‐processing of data required approximately 10 minutes of calculation. The application of three dimensional ultrasound in complex malformations of the face appears to provide reasonable value for prenatal diagnosis and may become clinically useful in the near future.

Evaluation of Two-Dimensional versus Three-Dimensional Ultrasound in Obstetric Diagnostics: A Prospective Study

“…While some research groups are convinced that 3D imaging is able to convey additional image information [6,8,21], other authors merely report comparable results [13] and similar limitations as with conventional 2D ultrasound [22]. The psychological aspect that parents can better understand the given malformation if they see it on the 3D image is considered beneficial [23].…”

“…Recent scientific publications have shown that current technological advances lead to a broader area of application for the 3D imaging technique in connection with fetal organ analyses; the publications describe the routine depiction of fetal hands [4,5], cephalic [6][7][8][9][10] and vertebral structures [1,[11][12][13], cardiac volume [14], fetal ears [15], liver [16], lung [17], kidneys [18] and amniotic fluid [19]. The advantages and disadvantages of 3D image information compared to 2D imaging show considerable variations and are often a matter for controversial discussion between the different research groups.…”

Congenital Epulis

“…Cleft lips, micrognathia, malformed ears, and frontal bossing have all been reported to be better displayed by 3DUS. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] To our knowledge, the use of 3DUS in a fetus with congenital epulis has not been reported. In addition to providing a surface-rendered display of the mass, which facilitated parental counseling, the 3DUS images showed a high likelihood of functional impairment of the nasal airway because the mass was seen obstructing both nares.…”

Volume Measurement in Sequential Freehand 3-D Ultrasound

“…There have been several reviews of foetal applications of 3D ultrasound [121,156,173]. Much of this work has been concerned with the detection of foetal abnormalities [10], for instance cleft lip or other malformations of the face [107]. The visualisation of the foetal spine and thorax has also been achieved; important in evaluating skeletal dysplasia, abnormalities leading to a small thorax and subsequent pulmonary hypoplasia, and neural tube defects [132].…”

“…This is generally achieved by attaching the transducer to a stepper motor, for linear [92,104,117,169], rotational [51,91,136], fan [20,69] or intravascular linear [102] scanning. This kind of approach has also been used in integrated transducers, for instance Kretz Technik's 4 Combison 330 [1,2] and 530 [30,107,121,173], which scans an entire pyramidal volume. Diagnostic Ultrasound Corporation also produce an integrated scanner and volume calculation device, Bladderscan 5 , specifically for urological use [118].…”