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2D vs 3D Ultrasound (2017-Present)

   

3D versus 2D neonatal cranial ultrasound

Joao Alves Rosa, Rachel Roberts, Adam Smith-Collins, Sian Curtis, Savvas Andronikou, David Grier

Bull Horns Coronal 1
A standard 2D coronal image of the frontal lobe, showing the 'bull horns'. 
Bull Horns Coronal 2
A 3D coronal image of the frontal lobe taken during the study for comparison.
Left Temporal Sagittal
A standard 2D sagittal image of the left temporal lobe.

Patients on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) often require imaging of their brain to look for intracranial haemorrhage or other complications.

These are commonly seen in pre-term babies, or term infants with birth asphyxia, seizures, or congenital infections.

Ultrasound is the imaging modality of choice as it does not use ionising radiation, and is easily performed at the bedside. 2-dimensional (2D) ultrasound requires significant training to obtain adequate quality images in the standard planes.  3-dimensional (3D) ultrasound images are easier and quicker to acquire, which may be of benefit to patients that are sick and immobilised by medical paraphernalia such as ventilators. These images can be reconstructed using computer software into the 2-dimensional images in the standard planes.

If the image quality of these reconstructions is equal to a 2D-acquired scan for diagnostic purposes, then these could be performed at remote sites. The resultant images could then be sent on to tertiary referral centres and interpreted by specialists without the need for the infant to travel hundreds of miles in a sub-optimal clinical condition.

To find out whether this is possible we first want to carry out a proof of concept study (20 patients) to ensure that the 3D scans can be reconstructed to provide a 2D image, without loss of quality, or loss of features over that seen in the 2D scan.  We will also validate the anecdotal evidence that the 3D scan can be performed more quickly and easily than the 2D scan. 

The aim of the study is to compare the presence and quality of key anatomical landmarks in standard images of the brain in the neonatal population produced by 2D and 2D cross-sectional reconstructions from a 3D data set.

The primary endpoint of this study is the adequacy of reconstructed 3D data to display at least 90% of the key anatomical landmarks with similar quality to the 2D acquires standard images.