3D Echo in Routine Clinical Practice – State of the Art in 2019

Three-dimensional (3D) echo has been around for almost five decades. Recent advances in ultrasound, electronic and computing technologies have moved 3D echo from the research environment to everyday clinical practice. Real time 3D echo and full volume acquisition are now possible with transthoracic as well as transoesophageal probes. The main advantages of 3D echo are the infinite cut planes possible, allowing direct, en face, and anatomical views of cardiac structures, avoiding foreshortening and circumventing the geometric assumptions of the cardiac chambers inherent in any 2D echo techniques. Three-dimensional echo is still dependent on image quality, subjected to ultrasound artifacts and faces the compromise between spatial and temporal resolution. In routine clinical practice in 2019, we recommend a focussed 3D examination after a full 2D echo study. The area where 3D echo has been consistently shown to have superior accuracy and reproducibility over 2D echo is in the assessment of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction. We recommend obtaining a full volume 3D echo data set from the apical window, from which LV volumes and LV global longitudinal strain can be measured. Further 3D examination can be performed depending on the pathologies identified on 2D examination. Three-dimensional echo is superior to 2D echo in the assessment of mitral valve pathologies and atrial septal defects. Furthermore, real time 3D transoesophageal echo is a very useful technique in guiding structural cardiac intervention, both before, during and after the procedure. While 3D echo is not the holy grail of echocardiography, it does represent a useful technique in selected areas of cardiac imaging.