Three-dimensional vaginal sonography in obstetrics and gynaecology

Great strides have recently been made in obstetrics and gynaecology seconda ry to the development of high-performance transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) ins truments. However, even this advanced technology can provide only two-dimen sional (2D) views of three-dimensional (3D) structures. Although an experie nced examiner can easily piece together sequential 2D planes for creating a mental 3D image, individual sectional planes cannot be achieved in a 2D im age because of various difficulties. Today, 3D TVS can portray not only ind ividual image planes, it can also store complex tissue volumes which can be digitally manipulated to display a multiplanar view, allowing a systematic tomographic survey of any particular field of interest. The same technolog y can also display surface rendering and transparency views to provide a mo re realistic 3D portrayal of various structures and anomalies. The current review provides examples and discussions of the various applications in obs tetrics, gynaecology and assisted reproduction in which 3D TVS is a useful supplement to image modality.