Three- and four-dimensional visualization of magnetic resonance imaging data sets in pediatric cardiology

The purpose of medical imaging technology in pediatric cardiology is to provide clear representations of the underlying anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system--representations that are easily understood and that facilitate clinical decision making. However, standard projective and tomographic imaging methods often yield results that are intelligible only to imaging specialists. Three- and four-dimensional reconstructions from projective and tomographic data sets are an alternative form of image display. Often, these reconstructions are more readily comprehensible as representations of the reality apparent in the operating room or the pathology laboratory than are the original data sets. Furthermore, viewing of these reconstructions is much more time efficient than viewing hundreds of separate tomographic images. Magnetic resonance imaging inherently provides three-, four-, and even higher dimensional data, and magnetic resonance data sets are commonly used to generate volumetric reconstructions. This review will focus on the practical application of magnetic resonance imaging to yield three- and four-dimensional reconstructions of pediatric cardiovascular disorders.