The role of three-dimensional ultrasound in the diagnosis of fetal congenital anomalies: a review

The objective of this review was to establish whether three-dimensional (3D) and four dimensional (4D) ultrasonography adds diagnostic information to what is currently provided by two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound in the diagnosis of the most frequent fetal structural defects: congenital heart disease and central nervous system congenital anomalies. There are evidences suggesting that 3D ultrasound allows to reduce the operator dependency in the visualization of standard diagnostic planes, thus reducing the examination time require for the obstetric ultrasound examination, with minimal impact on the visualization quality of the anatomic landmarks. Furthermore, operators with minimal experience may record cardiac or brain volumes that can be successfully analyzed off-line locally or sent by internet to experts for remote review. As a consequence 3D ultrasonography promises to become the method of choice for diagnosis congenital structural defects.