Real-time three-dimensional echocardiography: an overview.

Conventional echocardiography and its representation of the heart in a two-dimensional format only provide partial information about cardiac function. Real-time three-dimensional echocardiography is a recently developed technique based on the design of an ultrasound transducer with a matrix array that instantaneously acquires the image contained in a pyramidal volume. The simultaneous display of multiple tomographic images allows the anatomically correct examination of any structure contained within the volumetric image. Software and technologies based on high performance computers designed for graphic handling of three-dimensional images permit the rapid mapping of the volumetric image and provide possibilities beyond those of the echograph. Using this methodology, it is possible to simultaneously visualize multiple superimposed planes in an interactive manner. Real-time three-dimensional echocardiography also allows a quantitative assessment of cardiac volumes, ventricular mass, and myocardium with contraction and/or perfusion abnormalities. This technique thus expands the abilities of non-invasive cardiology and may open new doors for the evaluation of cardiac disease.