By
Medical Care Review | Thursday,
November 30,
2023
By leveraging real-time 3D imaging anesthesia technology, it becomes easier to assess, screen, and monitor the patients.
FREMONT, CA: The nature and number of dimensions are one of the most recent subjects of discussion and dispute among theoretical physicists. In traditional terms, there are three spatial dimensions: up and down, forward and back, side to side, or, more succinctly, height, depth, and width. The fourth dimension is time. In the 1960s, a musical group used the moniker "the Fifth Dimension" as an allusion to a level of existence beyond space and time that is more ethereal and unseen.
Beyond 2D TEE
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe and related TEE imaging are unique devices developed by the medical device industry for the cardiology community. Both cardiologists and anesthesiologists utilize this instrument and technology. Although not every anesthesiologist is adequately trained or accredited in TEE, those who are fully aware of its utility in diagnosing or monitoring critically ill patients. These anesthesiologists are aware that TEE applications are typically 2D.
The image exposes height and width but not depth. The usual TEE is simply 2D. As excellent as TEE is, it lacks the third dimension, which can restrict the observer's vision.
Implications and Implementation
In practice, this add-on service entails the employment of a 3D–capable machine to perform 3D imaging in the same session as the primary echocardiography service. The supplier can view the photos in real-time and utilize post-processing tools for additional research, including reconstruction and measurement. It performs 3D echocardiographic imaging in the same session as the primary service for TEE or transthoracic echocardiography for congenital cardiac anomalies when the patient is appropriately prepared and possibly sedated. The probe receives the echoes and transmits them to a computer, which then utilizes the signals to construct an image. The provider can assess one or more cardiac structures, such as the heart chambers and valves, left atrial appendage, interatrial septum, and interventricular septum, using real-time 3D imaging. After gathering ultrasound images and data, post-processing software enables the provider to reconstruct images, take measurements, and do other operations.
