Three-dimensional echocardiography in the assessment of cardiac tumors: The added value of the extra dimension

Introduction

Echocardiography is the most frequently used imaging modality in the assessment of cardiac tumors. Historically, this evaluation had been based on the analysis of 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic sectors of the heart. The information obtained from orthogonal tomographic planes from several acoustic windows was used in an attempt to mentally reconstruct a model of how the tumor would actually look in 3 dimensions and how it would relate to its adjacent structures.

New technology using matrix-array-transducers has permitted the development of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE), bringing cardiac imaging to a new dimension. Now it is possible to capture and analyze the entire volume of a cardiac tumor in a single cardiac cycle. This new imaging modality provides valuable clinical information that empowers echocardiographers with new levels of confidence in the diagnosis of heart disease.¹

This manuscript discusses the added value of this new technology in the echocardiographic assessment of cardiac tumors.