JUM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Video 1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gindes, L.
Right arrow Articles by Achiron, R.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gindes, L.
Right arrow Articles by Achiron, R.
© 2009 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
J Ultrasound Med 28:977-988 • 0278-4297

Three-Dimensional Ultrasonographic Depiction of Fetal Abdominal Blood Vessels

Liat Gindes, MD, Dolores H. Pretorius, MD, Lorene E. Romine, MD, Menashe Kfir, MD, Deborah D’Agostini, RDMS, Andrew Hull, MD and Reuven Achiron, MD

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer (Affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University), Ramat Gan, Israel (L.G., R.A.); and Departments of Radiology (D.H.P., L.E.R., D.D.) and Reproductive Medicine (M.K., A.H.), Thornton Hospital, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California USA.

Address correspondence to Liat Gindes, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel., E-mail: gindesl{at}zahav.net.il

Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify fetal abdominal vasculature with 3-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography and to describe a systematic method for analysis of volume data sets. Methods. Three-dimensional volumes of the fetal abdomen were acquired prospectively in 30 patients between 15 and 34 weeks’ gestation with color Doppler, high-definition (HD) flow, power Doppler, and B-flow imaging. All volumes were analyzed offline by 2 examiners separately. The feasibility of identifying the fetal abdominal blood vessels was analyzed. A standardized approach was applied to identify specific vessels by correlating the images with known anatomic landmarks. Results. The volumes were rotated into an anatomic orientation in the multiplanar mode, and then the vessels were identified in the following order: aorta (30 of 30), celiac trunk (29 of 30), superior mesenteric vein (28 of 30 and 26 of 30 for readers 1 and 2, respectively), superior mesenteric artery (29 of 30), left renal artery (25 of 30 and 26 of 30), right renal artery (27 of 30), common iliac arteries (30 of 30), umbilical arteries (26 of 27), external iliac arteries (20 of 22), umbilical vein (29 of 30), ductus venosus (30 of 30), hepatic vein (29 of 30), right portal vein (29 of 30), inferior vena cava (28 of 30), adrenal artery (2 of 30), hepatic artery (24 of 30 and 23 of 30), splenic artery (24 of 30 and 23 of 30), gastric artery (14 of 30 and 9 of 30), splenic vein (19 of 30 and 15 of 30), and renal vein (1 of 30). A step-by-step systematic approach to identify the abdominal vasculature from the ultrasonographic volume data set was developed. Conclusions. Fetal abdominal vessels can be easily visualized when a systematic analysis is performed on 3D data set volumes. Visualization of the vessels was optimal when volumes were acquired with HD flow imaging.

Key Words: arteries • blood vessels • fetal abdomen • 3-dimensional ultrasonography, veins

Abbreviations: HD, high-definition • IVC, inferior vena cava • SMA, superior mesenteric artery • SMV, superior mesenteric vein • 3D, 3-dimensional • 3DUS, 3-dimensional ultrasonography • 2DUS, 2-dimensional ultrasonography

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.