3D imaging of the fetal face - recommendations from the International 3D Focus Group.

Three-dimensional and four-dimensional ultrasound (3D/4D US) technology can be easily applied to routine prenatal diagnosis and can provide images of the fetal face that cannot be achieved with two-dimensional ultrasound (2D US) [1–7]. The most recent 3D/4D US technology facilitates the 3D/4D US examinations even for the less trained sonographer and gives the examiner the opportunity to identify the normal and abnormal fetal face in the most appropriate imaging mode [8]. The purpose of publishing these recommendations was to demonstrate the different possibilities of assessing the normal and abnormal fetal face with 3D/4D ultrasound and to give the operator an overview of the benefit resulting from the application of that technology.