A ‘holistic’ sonographic view on congenital heart disease – how
semiautomatic reconstruction eases unveiling abnormal cardiac anatomy
part II: left heart anomalies
Abstract
Volume ultrasound has been shown to provide valid complementary
information on fetal anatomy. Three-dimensional assessment of the fetal
cardiovascular system using spatial-temporal image correlation (STIC)
allows for detailed examination of a highly complex organ from the early
second trimester onwards. There is compelling evidence that this
technique harbors quite a number of diagnostic opportunities, but manual
navigation through STIC volume datasets is highly operator dependent. In
fact, STIC is not incorporated yet into daily practice. Application of
the novel fetal intelligent navigation echocardiography (FINE)
considerably simplifies fetal cardiac volumetric examinations. This
semiautomatic technique reportedly has both high sensitivity and
specificity for the detection of congenital heart defects (CHDs). Part I
reviewed current data regarding detection rates of CHDs and illustrated
the additional value of a semiautomatic approach in delineating cardiac
anatomy exemplified by congenital lesions of the right heart. In part II
of this pictorial essay, we focused on left heart anomalies and aimed to
tabulate recent findings on the quantification of normal and abnormal
cardiac anatomy.