? Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 2000. 02:457–75 Copyright c  2000 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND IMAGING Aaron Fenster and Donal B. Downey The John P. Robarts Research Institute and Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; e-mail: afenster@irus.rri.on.ca Key Words ultrasonography, 3-D imaging, 3-D ultrasound ■ Abstract Two-dimensional viewing of three-dimensional anatomy by conven- tional ultrasound limits our ability to quantify and visualize a number of diseases and is partly responsible for the reported variability in diagnosis. Over the past two decades, many investigators have addressed this limitation by developing three-dimensional imaging techniques, including three-dimensional ultrasound imaging. In this paper we describe the development of a number of three-dimensional ultrasound imaging sys- tems that make use of B mode, color Doppler, and power Doppler. In these systems, the conventional ultrasound transducer is scanned mechanically or by a freehand technique. The ultrasound images are digitized and then reconstructed into a three-dimensional volume, which can be viewed and manipulated interactively by the diagnostician with a variety of image-rendering techniques. These developments as well as future trends are discussed with regard to their applications and limitations. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................ 458 Limitations of Two-Dimensional Ultrasound Imaging ..................... 458 THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND ACQUISITION METHODS ......... 459 Two-Dimensional Arrays ......................................... 460 Mechanical Localizers ........................................... 460 Freehand Scanning with Positioning Information ........................ 464 Freehand Scanning Without Position Sensing ........................... 467 THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND RECONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES ................................................. 467 Reconstruction of Features ........................................ 467 Reconstruction of Cartesian Volume ................................. 468 THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND VISUALIZATION AND RENDERING .................................................. 469 Surface-Based Rendering ......................................... 469 Multiplanar Reformatting ......................................... 469 Volume Rendering .............................................. 470 TRENDS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS ............................ 471 Computer-Aided Exams .......................................... 471 1523-9829/00/0825-0457$14.00 457 Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 2000.2:457-475. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by 44.197.192.137 on 06/11/22. For personal use only.