Three-dimensional echocardiography in clinical practice

The heart has a complex anatomy and it is in constant motion. Conventional two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography can only provide partial information about the spatial and temporal relationship of cardiac structures during the cardiac cycle (Fig. 4.1). Furthermore, conventional 2D echocardiography requires a difficult mental process by the operator to reconstruct a stereoscopic image of the heart based on the interpretation of multiple tomographic slices. Sometimes, the mental exercise of reconstruction may be inadequate to obtain a precise diagnosis even for an experienced observer, especially when dealing with complex congenital abnormalities of the heart. In addition, it can be difficult to convey or demonstrate a meaningful representation of cardiac pathology to those not fully conversant with 2D echocardiographic views and appearances.