4D Scan

3D ultrasound is a medical ultrasound technique, often used in fetal, cardiac, trans-rectal and intra-vascular applications. 3D ultrasound refers specifically to the volume rendering of ultrasound data and is also referred to as 4D (3-spatial dimensions plus 1-time dimension) when it involves a series of 3D volumes collected over time.When generating a 3D volume the ultrasound data can be collected in four common ways.

Freehand, which involves tilting the probe and capturing a series of ultrasound images and recording the transducer orientation for each slice. Mechanically, where the internal linear probe tilt is handled by a motor inside the probe. Using an endoprobe, which generates the volume by inserting a probe and then removing the transducer in a controlled manner. The fourth technology is the matrix array transducer that uses beamsteering to sample points throughout a pyramid shaped volume.

Applications

Obstetrics

3D US is useful among other things for facilitating the characterization of some congenital defects, such as skeletal anomalies and heart issues. With real-time 3D US the fetal heart-rate can be examined in real-time

Cardiology

The application of three-dimensional ultrasound in cardiac treatments has done outstanding progress in scanning and treating the heart issues. When the 3D ultrasound technology is used to visualize the cardiac state of an individual, it is called as 3D Echocardiography.

Surgical guidance

Traditionally, with the 2D ultrasound, the specific position of organs and tissues useful in surgeries could not be located especially in the oblique plane. However, with the advent of 3D ultrasound, the imaging technique has evolved manifolds enabling the surgeons to get a real-time picture of the tissues and organs and visualize the complete scan more efficiently.

Vascular imaging

Blood vessels and arteries movements are not easy to track because of their distribution due to which capturing a real-time picture becomes difficult. Diagnosis is widely used in every kind of treatment and with the 3D US, it is now possible to track dynamic movement of blood cells, veins and arteries.