Wang W, Liao X, Chen ECS, et al. - In this prospective, observational analysis involving healthy volunteers, researchers used 2-dimensional (2D) tracked ultrasound to determine how volume/location of the internal jugular vein (IJV) is influenced by different positioning. They scanned 20 healthy volunteers in these positions: supine with head neutral, rotated 15 and 30 degrees to the left and 5-, 10-, and 15-degree Trendelenburg position with head neutral. They used a 2D ultrasound probe tracked with a magnetic tracker in order to scan the volunteer's neck in each position. They gathered these spatially tracked 2D images and re-built these into a 3D volume of the IJV and carotid artery. A 3D surface on which measurements and calculations were done was derived by segmenting this 3D ultrasound volume. They found that the cross-section area of the IJV was significantly raised by the Trendelenburg position, this led to the facilitation of IJV cannulation. Overall, this novel 3D reconstruction method allows the creation of a 3D volume by a tracked 2D ultrasound scanning system with image acquisition and integration, and was suggested to have utility in offering a “road map” of the vascular anatomy of a patient's neck or other anatomic structures.