Feasibility of brain volumetric analysis and reconstruction of images by transfontanel three-dimensional ultrasound.
Based on the authors' experience with reconstruction of the heart using three-dimensional echocardiography, the authors assessed the feasibility of three-dimensional reconstruction of brain images using transfontanelle ultrasound in selected cases of infants with abnormal intracranial findings. A conventional 5-MHz ultrasound transducer inside a transducer holder was rotated 180 degrees around its vertical axis using a computer-controlled stepper motor to acquire multiple sequential cross-sections of the brain. The raw digital data of this three-dimensionally recorded dataset were transferred to a PC-based workstation for further analysis. The reconstruction of the three-dimensional brain images and volumetric analysis were undertaken using a new dedicated software capable of three-dimensional reconstruction and volumetric analysis (Echo-PAC-3D, version 1.2 Beta, GE Vingmed, Horton, Norway). The reconstruction of sequential slices from the stored three-dimensional data allowed the visualization of the epicortical extension and volumetric measurements of the focal ischemic infarction in the superior tempoparietal lobe in a 2-week-old newborn with a focal ischemic brain lesion. In other 2-week-old newborns, the extension and volume of a periventricular hemorrhage was visualized by three-dimensional reconstruction of coronal cross-sectional images from the acquired three-dimensional dataset. The three-dimensional reconstruction of the lateral ventricles allowed the three-dimensional visualization and estimation of ventricular dilatation in milliliters in an 8-week-old infant with hydrocephalus. Three-dimensional reconstruction of brain images and volume estimation of brain lesions and cavities by ultrasound may provide new insights into the morphology and extension of ultrasonographically visible brain lesions.
Department of Pediatric Cardiology/Congenital Heart Disease, Deutsches Herzzentrum, Berlin, Germany.
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H
Abdul-Khaliq
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PE
Lange
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M
Vogel
D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D004453:Echoencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000175:diagnosis; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012984:Software; D014159:Transducers