Three-dimensional volume measurement of the lateral ventricles in preterm and term infants: evaluation of a standardised computer-assisted method in vivo

Background: Assessment of ventricular size still represents a challenge for two-dimensional cranial sonography. Objective: Three-dimensional (3D) volume acquisition and volume quantification are easily accomplished by an automatic scanning system without additional examination time. The development of a computer-assisted ultrasonic device will offer new perspectives for the quantification of ventricular volume. Materials and methods: In total, 250 healthy neonates between 27 and 41 weeks' gestation and infants up to 6 months of age without neurological pathology were examined with 3D cranial ultrasound (US). The volume of both lateral ventricles and the third ventricle were separately quantified and summated for the calculation of ventricular volume. The correlation between body weight (BW), head circumference (HC), gestational age (GA) and ventricular volume was statistically analysed. Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between GA, BW, HC and ventricular volume. Normal values for premature and mature infants were established. Conclusions: 3D US appears to be an accurate imaging modality for the exact calculation of ventricular volume and should, therefore, be incorporated into the cranial sonographic assessment of ventricular size in infants.