3-D DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL ULTRASOUND IMAGING USING A 1-D ARRAY

A method and apparatus to collect a 3-D volume of data using a generic 1-D ultrasound transducer, without using special fixtures, such as position tracking hardware. A 3-D volume is generated by performing two data collecting sweeps, or alternatively, by collecting data from a plurality of locator planes (non-coplanar intersecting planes) and performing one data collecting sweep or rotation. Lines of intersection are determined from intersecting planes of 2-D data sets collected from the 1-D ultrasound transducer. The 2-D data sets are assembled into a 3-D data set and scan converted in a 3-D grid for display.