Pretorius D H, Nelson T R
Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0610, USA.
J Ultrasound Med. 1995 May;14(5):349-56. doi: 10.7863/jum.1995.14.5.349.
Evaluation of the fetal face is an essential part of the sonographic examination for high risk pregnancies. Even under optimal conditions, the complex curvature of the face makes it difficult to obtain adequate images with two-dimensional ultrasonography, and many cross-sectional images are required to obtain a complete impression. The purpose of this paper is to show preliminary work in assessing the utility of three-dimensional ultrasonographic visualization of the fetal face. Fetal facial features were evaluated with three-dimensional sonography by scanning with a volume transducer and compared to conventional two-dimensional ultrasonographic images in 27 fetuses (gestational ages 10 to 39 weeks). Surface rendered three-dimensional sonographic images of the fetal face were obtained in 24 of 27 fetuses. In four cases the upper lip was clearly imaged on three-dimensional ultrasonography when it could not be seen on two dimensional ultrasonography. Information requiring multiple planes with two-dimensional ultrasonography could be demonstrated on a single image from three-dimensional ultrasonography. Images of abnormal faces were seen with both two- and three-dimensional ultrasonography in two cases of cleft lip and one case of holoprosencephaly. Volume data acquisition required approximately 10 sec and reconstruction required approximately 5 sec with instantaneous review of planes through the volume data set. Surface rendering required 2 to 10 min depending on the angular viewing range. Three-dimensional ultrasonography has the potential to provide improved visualization of the fetal face compared with conventional two-dimensional sonographic imaging.
对高危妊娠进行超声检查时，评估胎儿面部是其中重要的一部分。即便在最佳条件下，面部复杂的曲率使得二维超声难以获取足够的图像，需要许多横断面图像才能形成完整的印象。本文的目的是展示在评估三维超声可视化胎儿面部效用方面的初步工作。使用容积探头扫描，通过三维超声对27例胎儿（孕龄10至39周）的面部特征进行评估，并与传统二维超声图像进行比较。27例胎儿中有24例获得了胎儿面部的表面渲染三维超声图像。在4例中，三维超声清晰显示了二维超声未能看到的上唇。二维超声需要多平面获取的信息，在三维超声的单幅图像上即可呈现。在2例唇裂和1例前脑无裂畸形病例中，二维和三维超声均显示了异常面部图像。容积数据采集约需10秒，重建约需5秒，并可即时查看容积数据集中的平面。根据视角范围，表面渲染需要2至10分钟。与传统二维超声成像相比，三维超声有可能改善胎儿面部的可视化效果。
