Clinical Evaluation of a Three-Dimensional Ultrasonography System in the Ophthalmic Field

Clinical use of a 3-dimensional ultrasonography system with a new ophthalmic imaging device using conventional 2-dimensional ultrasound tomography in the ophthalmic field was evaluated in 5 patients with different ocular conditions. With the system, surface rendering and volume measurement were easy in 3-dimensional ultrasonographic examinations. In a patient with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, the surface rendering made the image cube transparent, revealing interior surface details. In a patient with lens luxation resulting from Marfan's syndrome, the shape of luxated spherophakia was detected stereographically. In a patient with choroidal detachment, we could evaluate the effect of administration of aspirin on the amelioration of this disease by measuring the volume of the choroidal lesion. In a patient with aberration of a lens fragment into subretinal space during cataract surgery, we grasped the whole ocular condition in the 3-dimensional image only by just one manipulation. In a patient with optic disc melanocytoma, we could detect the volume change in detail using the 3-dimensional images-saving system. No discomfort occurred in these patients during examination. Based upon the above findings, we considered that this device was useful in making diagnosis and grasping the whole ocular conditions and outcome in breathtaking 3-dimensional views, and in causing no discomfort for patients.