V zadnjih desetih letih je razvoj ultrazvočne diagnostike hiter, posebej na področju tri- in štiridimenzionalnega ultrazvoka. Namen članka je približati bralcu fizikalne osnove in možnosti uporabe teh tehnologij v ginekologiji in porodništvu. Opisani so načini prikaza informacij (prostornin), ki jih pridobimo s pomočjo tridimenzionalnega ultrazvočnega tipala. Predstavljeni so računalniški programi, ki se nahajajo v tridimenzionalnih ultrazvočnih aparatih in omogočajo merjenje in analizo prostornin. Podani so rezultati kliničnih študij, ki so analizirale različne možnosti uporabe tridimenzionalnega ultrazvoka pri reševanju problemov, s katerimi se srečujemo v ginekologiji in porodništvu.In the past ten years, development of ultrasound diagnostic technology has been very fast, especially in the field of three- and four-dimensional ultrasound. The purpose of this article is to familiarise the reader with the physical background and possible applications of these technologies in gynecology and obstetrics. Different display modes of information (volumes) acquired using a three-dimensional ultrasound probe are described. Software integrated in three-dimensional ultrasound machines, which offer the possibility of measurement and analysis of acquired volumes are presented. The results of clinical studies which evaluated the usefulness of three-dimensional ultrasound at solving different problems in gynecology and obstetrics are also reported
