Complex intracardiac anatomy and spatial relationships are inherent to congenital heart defects. Beginning over 30 years ago and until recently, the clinician΄s ability to image the heart non-invasively was limited to 2DE.1 However, 2D imaging has fundamental limitations. The very nature of a 2DE slice, which has no thickness, necessitates the use of multiple orthogonal ˵sweeps.″ The imager then mentally reconstructs the anatomy, and uses the structure of the report to express this mentally reconstructed vision. This means that the only 3D image of the heart is the ˵virtual image″ that exists in the mind of the imager, who then translates this vision into words. It is not easy for an untrained observer to understand the images obtained in the course of a sweep; expert interpretation is required. Importantly, since myocardial motion occurs in 3D, 2D techniques inherently do not lend themselves to accurate quantitation. Recognition of these limitations of 2DE has led to burgeoning research and clinical interest in 3D imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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