Although available commercially since the 1960s, ultrasound was not widely accepted until the mid-1970s, when additional advances in technology would contribute to better image quality.
The latest advances in ultrasound are 3D and 4D imaging. To create 3D images, an ultrasound system determines the volume of a subject - for example, a baby. The system then reconstructs the image in three dimensions. As for 4D Ultrasound, cutting edge state of the art ultrasound machines gather 3D volumes and instantly reconstruct them into moving images.
In conventional 2D scanning the ultrasound image is made up of a series of thin slices and only one slice can be seen at any one time. Although the image is very informative the picture you see does not look like a baby. With 3D ultrasound a volume of echoes is taken which can be stored digitally and shaded to produce life like pictures of the fetus. 4D just means that these life like pictures can be seen to move in real time so the activity of the baby inside your womb can be studied. The result: live action movies of your unborn child.
Pregnancy Timeline Click on the link to see ultrasound images of a baby week by week through pregnancy!
Traditional 2D scan versus the new 4D scan
Traditional ultrasound images are two-dimensional, forcing a doctor to create three-dimensional images in his/her mind.
“For the untrained eye, traditional 2D ultrasound images can be difficult to interpret” says Dr Bryan Beattie, Consultant in Fetal Medicine at the Cardiff Fetal Medicine Centre in Spire ” but with 4D ultrasound pregnant women and their families can not only easily identify their unborn babies but can clearly see what they are doing”
Virtual Baby 4D Scan Click on the link to see a demonstration of a 4D baby ultrasound scan?
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