Reconstruction and quantification with three-dimensional intracoronary ultrasound. An update on techniques, challenges, and future directions.

Conventional two-dimensional intracoronary ultrasound enables the extent, distribution, and therapy of atherosclerotic plaques to be studied as it provides a unique tomographic visualization of both the vascular lumen and wall'". The most important limitation of two-dimensional intracoronary ultrasound in pre/poststudies is the matching of the target sites for serial measurement. This problem is caused by the lack of a third dimension in conventional intracoronary ultrasound examinations. Three-dimensional reconstruction of intracoronary ultrasound images'" permits a more advanced assessment of vessel, lumen and plaque morphology.