ABSTRACT
One of the most complex structures, and one that has eluded sonographers for years, is the fetal heart. Utilizing volume sonography, the fetal heart may be evaluated in any of several modalities in which B-Flow, color and power Doppler, HD-Flow, and inversion mode may be employed. Optimizing acquisition, minimizing shadowing from fetal limbs, and standardizing the display are key factors in facilitating navigation through the volume in order to enhance retrieval of the respective anatomic planes out of a stored volume dataset. Stored volume datasets of the fetal heart are a great educational tool for the study of normal anatomy and cardiac pathology. Due to the complexity of the fetal heart, it is easy to get “lost” while navigating through the volume. This is where standardization and the use of the reference dot prove to be of tremendous benefit.
