In recent years, two-dimensional echocardiography has entered everyday clinical practice and has become an integral part of clinical cardiology. The technological revolution in the field of electronic computers and microelectronics has led to further improvement of echocardiographic systems, resulting in the emergence of new techniques. Three-dimensional echocardiography is a relatively new technique that aims to highlight the stereoscopic nature of cardiac structures. In this way, the modern cardiologist has the ability to visualize the real world, the world of three dimensions, and thus develop a common communication code with the cardiac surgeon. Three-dimensional echocardiography has taken its first steps and has evolved in terms of its transthoracic approach, while recently three-dimensional transesophageal transducers have appeared. Nowadays, new microelectronic systems have helped in the real-time three-dimensional imaging, resulting in a more complete and accurate visualization of cardiac structures. The emergence of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography leads to the thought that soon cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and cardiac surgeons will communicate with each other by visualizing the heart in all three dimensions.

Thus, this book is addressed to both cardiologists and anesthesiologists and cardiac surgeons who want to have a first contact with a new, developing, and promising technique, the technique of three-dimensional echocardiography. [...]

(excerpt from the foreword by Ioannis A. Paraskevaidis)