Breakthrough 4D images of the human heart can now be made using ultrasound, following new software developed by General Electric. Unlike X-rays, this method of imaging internal organs is safe, while it can also capture pictures of a fetus in a womb.
In the GE software,
sound waves are used to show the objects, which is just like how
sonar locates and maps objects underwater.
The technology is similar to cardiac ultrasound, however, the
procedure currently gives a “slice” through the heart,
requiring a highly trained medical professional to deduce what
the rest of the organ looks like.
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General Electric’s software cSound, can analyze the data sent to
it during the ultrasound and process it into a video image of any
organ.
“According to doctors, the new 4D cardiovascular ultrasound
machines produce[s] images so detailed that they can actually see
how blood flow is affected by clots inside arteries, or how much
blood is leaking around a valve that’s malfunctioning,”
Gizmodo reported.
What’s more, cSound can process about five gigabytes of
information a second.
The first health care center to see the software in action was
the Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The facility treats complicated heart conditions, and according
to local cardiologist Bijoy Khandheria, the new software can
“help efficiently and accurately diagnose and develop
treatment plans for people suffering from heart failure
conditions,” the GE press release stated.
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A similar 4D ultrasound technology was previously developed for
generating images of fetuses in the womb, but it only used one
color to project the baby to the parents.
However, the cardiac ultrasound demonstrates various parts of the
heart in different colors, helping to provide the correct
diagnosis.