Why is it important to evaluate the cervical volume and vascularization 3-dimensionally during pregnancy?
Prematurity is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality despite improved postnatal care.1 Consequently, identification of risk factors and early cervical changes associated with preterm birth is an important area of investigation.2 Sonographic evaluation of the cervix provides information which is not available by digital examination.3 Recent studies have shown that incompare to transabdominal ultrasound, transvaginal ultrasound provides a more reliable and objective evaluation of the uterine cervix, demonstrating that the shorter the length of the cervix the higher the risk of preterm delivery.1,4 The measurement of the cervical volume could even better reflect cervical morphology. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging combined with power Doppler, theoretically provides the possibility to assess the volume and quantify the power Doppler signal in the whole target organ, whereas information from 2D ultrasound on vascularization and blood flow is restricted to a single subjectively c
