Core review: three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography is a major advance for intraoperative clinical management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a core review.

Echocardiography is a key assessment tool for the evaluation of cardiac structure and function. The ability to image cardiac structures using 3-dimensional (3D) echocardiography is evolving. In this article, we present some of the key features of the emerging 3D technology and review its applications with an emphasis on real-time 3D transesophageal echocardiography.