# 4D ultrasound - extract 3D data to use in other applications?

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [August 17, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230 "2021-08-17T15:06:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![arumiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@arumiat](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/arumiat)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230/1 "2021-08-17T15:06:35Z")

</div>

Hi Slicer community,

I’ve been sent a cardiac dataset which appears to be a number of volumes extracted directly from an ultrasound machine (I am attaching a video of all the volumes available).

[https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/slicer/original/3X/0/8/081a8a7efc8991698c9d252278a613970f5901cb.mp4](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/slicer/original/3X/0/8/081a8a7efc8991698c9d252278a613970f5901cb.mp4)

I have never worked with such a dataset before & am interested in anyone has any tips on topics / areas I should familiarise myself with to understand more.

Ultimately I’d like to extract the volumes into a format that we could query in 3D in Unity for instance, a bit like we have done for this CT data → [Canine echocardiography simulator mobile phone - 3D Veterinary Learning, IVALA](https://rumble.com/vbcwdg-canine-echocardiography-simulator-mobile-phone-3d-veterinary-learning-ivala.html).

It would be cool for a learner to be able to ‘slice’ through the ultrasound 3D volume in realtime and have the 2D view reflect what they are seeing.

A good start would rpobably be if there were a way to convert a volume into a set of images?

At the moment these volumes are single files with no recognisable extension.

Any tips welcomed!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pieper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/pieper/32/8_2.png) [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230/2 "2021-08-17T17:57:16Z")

</div>

As far as I can tell those are all just recordings of 2D sequences, not true 4D ultrasound data. You would need to record a sweep, ideally with a tracked probe, or use a natively 3D probe.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![arumiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@arumiat](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/arumiat)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 7:59am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230/3 "2021-08-18T07:59:09Z")

</div>

Thank you @pieper .

Is a ‘natively probe’ a specific thing or did you just mean to type ‘native’ ?

I will ask them also about their machine & capabilities.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pieper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/pieper/32/8_2.png) [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230/4 "2021-08-18T14:54:21Z")

</div>

By " a natively 3D probe" I mean a [probe that acquires a volume](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_ultrasound) rather than a slice.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/4d-ultrasound-extract-3d-data-to-use-in-other-applications/19230/5 "2021-08-21T03:51:36Z")

</div>

Pixel data in these series seem to contain only screen capture videos. This is very common in ultrasound imaging. In addition to this, the series may also contain 3D/4D volume in private tags. SlicerHeart extension can extract these volumes from some kind of data sets. See more information [here](https://github.com/SlicerHeart/SlicerHeart/blob/master/Docs/ImageImportExport.md).