Feasibility of three-dimensional intravascular ultrasonography: preliminary clinical studies.
The aim of this study was to demonstrate the clinical utility of reconstructed three-dimensional intravascular ultrasonography using a voxel-based volume rendering technique. Three-dimensional reconstruction of intravascular ultrasonographic data was performed in 12 patients with various vascular abnormalities during interventional radiology procedures. A stepping motor device was used to pull either a 12.5 or a 20 MHz catheter-based transducer through the lumen of a variety of vessels at a rate of 1.5 mm/s. Images were downloaded to a Life Imaging System for three-dimensional reconstruction. The value of three-dimensional ultrasonographic imaging was evaluated in comparison to conventional intravascular ultrasonography. A variety of abnormalities were demonstrated in reconstructed three-dimensional ultrasound imaging, including arterial atheroma and plaque, aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm, aortic dissection and stenosis (May-Thurner syndrome). The vascular branches and accessory vessels, as well as their relationships to each other, were easily demonstrated on three-dimensional imaging by selecting an appropriate angle, plane, and section of the image. The dimensions and shapes of the vascular lumen were determined in the longitudinal view. Three-dimensional information proved useful for determining the distribution and type of plaque in vessels. Reconstructed three-dimensional imaging allows for global evaluation of the dissection entry site, extent of the flap, and the false lumen of a pseudoaneurysm. Intravascular three-dimensional ultrasonography provides information complementary to that obtained with two-dimensional imaging. It supplies information about spatial relationships of anatomic structures that cannot be evaluated using conventional imaging methods.
Liu
J B
JB
Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Bonn
J
J
Needleman
L
L
Chiou
H J
HJ
Gardiner
G A
GA
Goldberg
B B
BB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017541:Aneurysm, False / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007083:Iliac Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007084:Iliac Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods*; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016306:Vena Cava Filters; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging