Stereographic viewing of 3D ultrasound images: a novelty or a tool?

Three dimensional (3D) reconstruction of multiple two dimensional images, spatially and time registered, is increasingly being employed. These can be visualized on computer screens in full stereographic perspective using software and stereographic glasses now available. The authors have applied stereographic viewing to over 40 reconstructions of outlines of the endo and epicardiums of ultrasound imaged hearts. They found that standard viewing often mislead them into believing that misregistration existed. However, when viewed in stereographic mode, they found that these suspected lines did intersect, but at other places in the 3D reconstruction. The stereographic method has proven very useful in this and in distinguishing the separability of various 3D structural features in grid, surface, and voxel echocardiogram reconstructions.