3-DIMENSIONAL VASCULAR IMAGING USING DOPPLER ULTRASOUND

BACKGROUND: We have evaluated the efficacy of using three-dimensional reconstruction of amplitude Doppler imaging data to quantitatively ass ess carotid artery bifurcation stenoses. METHODS: Sixty-four consecuti ve frames of amplitude (power) Doppler images are stored to be reassem bled into a three-dimensional image representing the patent lumen. The se images can then be rotated by any angle necessary to clearly view t he vascular anatomy and to make quantitative ultrasound caliper measur ements of the stenotic lumen and normal vessel caliber. RESULTS: Three -dimensional Doppler images accurately classified 53 of 61 vessels (87 %) into categories of stenosis compared with angiography. All stenoses with >60% diameter reduction were detected and classified as such, fo r a sensitivity of 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional vascular imagi ng based on amplitude (power) Doppler data provides an accurate noninv asive technique for quantitative diagnosis of carotid bifurcation athe rosclerotic disease, with selectable viewing projections that eliminat e vessel overlap and other artifacts, and complements the hemodynamic data already available with two-dimensional duplex ultrasound. Am J Su rg. 1998;176: 183-187. (C) 1998 by Excerpta Medica, Inc. 183.