Three-dimensional power Doppler sonography of tumor vascularity.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of routine clinical examination using three‐dimensional power Doppler sonography of intratumoral blood flow. Twenty‐two hepatocellular carcinomas, seven cases of hepatic metastasis, four hepatic hemangiomas, six renal cell carcinomas, two cases of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia, and one case of splenic metastasis were included in the study. Three‐dimensional images were reconstructed by maximum intensity projection method using cine‐loop data on a built‐in computer in a LOGIQ 500 and a LOGIQ 700 from GE Yokogawa Medical Systems. The three‐dimensional images obtained were viewed multidirectionally on a monitor screen. Three‐dimensional representations of intratumoral blood flow became available for all tumors approximately 5 s to 30 s after scanning. In every case, the entire vasculature of the tumor was appreciated more easily from three‐dimensional images than from cross‐sectional two‐dimensional images. These three‐dimensional images of intratumoral blood flows corresponded to the tumor vessels that could be visualized by angiography at the early arterial phase. Differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors based on distinct difference in their intratumoral vascular structures was performed. Our results suggest that three‐dimensional power Doppler sonography can be used for routine clinical examination of tumor vascularity and may provide improved diagnostic information.

Three-dimensional Gray Scale Volume Rendering of the Liver

“…In most studies using 3D sonography in the liver, reformatted sectional images were used to assess the liver from an arbitrary orientation 11,12 ; however, by using this method, it was difficult to achieve an overall 3D shape of the liver. Other authors used 3D color Doppler sonography to visualize the intrahepatic vessels or the intratumoral vessels [13][14][15] ; nevertheless, it was unable to show the hepatic parenchyma simultaneously, although some 3D scanners provided the rendering mode of both color Doppler and B-mode imaging. Three-dimensional sonographic volume rendering uses all 3D data and projects them onto a 2D plane.…”

“…11,12 Conversely, 3D color Doppler sonography can offer the whole spatial impression of intrahepatic vasculature, but it is unsatisfactory for delineating the hepatic parenchyma. [13][14][15] …”

“…11,12 Conversely, 3D color Doppler sonography can offer the whole spatial impression of intrahepatic vasculature, but it is unsatisfactory for delineating the hepatic parenchyma. [13][14][15] Three-dimensional sonographic volume rendering of the liver based on gray scale information may avoid the above-stated shortcomings and has potential value in some clinical situations. Volume rendering extracts all echo information of the interested area and projects them onto a twodimensional (2D) plane 18,19 ; thus the general definition of the region of interest can be shown.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] However, only limited studies have been conducted to investigate the liver by 3D sonography. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] In most of them, multiplanar rendering and the 3D color Doppler mode were used to acquire 3D images of the liver, [11][12][13][14][15] and volume measurement of the liver or hepatic lesions was achieved by 3D sonography in other studies. 16,17 The multiplanar mode can show 3 orthogonal sectional images of the liver, and the region of interest can be observed from various directions by translation and rotation, whereas the whole spatial impression of the region of interest cannot be acquired directly.…”

Quantification of blood perfusion using 3D power Doppler: anin-vitroflow phantom study

“…The power Doppler signal may also be quantified to give objective information about blood flow. The potential medical applications are numerous and this is reflected in the increasing number of recent publications [1][2][3][4][5]. Many of these studies report an improved diagnostic capability, with power Doppler ultrasound able to differentiate between patient populations and disease states.…”