1,721,151 research outputs found
Editorial
Full text linkDear Colleagues, It is a pleasure to introduce the present issue of Ultrasound International Open. It contains an updated overview of how handling ultrasound systems, fundamental adjustments, and their optimization in B-mode ultrasound provided by Dr. Zander and colleagues
Multiparametric ultrasound of thyroid nodules: where do we stand?
No full textThyroid nodules are being increasingly detected during thyroid evaluations or incidentally during ultrasound examinations for other clinical purposes or screening programs, thus leading to potential overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Therefore, the present thyroid nodule epidemic represents a challenge for clinical management, since the vast majority of identified nodules end up being diagnosed as benign. The clinical practice guidelines limit the number of nodules to be submitted to fine-needle aspiration cytology, and selection no longer relies upon size and growth pattern
Ultrasound, the handyman serving our whole populations in the post COVID-19 pandemic
No full textNo abstract availabl
Different techniques for ultrasound liver elastography
No full textThe advent of vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE or simply TE) with Fibroscan in 2003 the first tool able to noninvasively quantify liver stiffness using ultrasound, thereby providing evidence of liver disease stage can be considered a milestone in hepatology given the limitations of biopsy in terms of
sampling and invasiveness. Thresholds for the differentiation of no/mild fibrosis from significant fibrosis, or severe fibrosis or cirrhosis have been provided with TE on the basis of many original works using histology as the reference standard.1,2 From 2009 onwards other new quantitative elastography technologies
started to arrive on the market, this time embedded in conventional ultrasound (US) devices. At present almost all ultrasound manufacturers have developed their own liver stiffness quantification modality.2 All share the capacity to assess tissue deformation and measure the speed of shearwaves travelling
perpendicular to the axis of an applied force (consisting of ultrasound energy, unlike the Fibroscan which uses the push of a piston). These technologies are collectively called shearwave elastography (SWE), with the two main categories being point SWE (pSWE), which samples a tiny linear portion of tissue
(few mm), and bidimensional SWE (2D-SWE), which samples large square areas 14cm2. A more detailed illustration of the various technologies is reported in the EFSUMB guidelines2 and is graphically summarized. Strain elastography is another technology that evaluates tissue stiffness and it is provided by
the large majority of manufacturers, since before the advent of SWE. However, it does not provide quantitative measurements of stiffness and did not prove to be as effective as SWE for liver disease: consequently, it has no current role in hepatology
What ultrasound operators must be well aware of in a world with raising burden of non alcoholic fatty liver disease?
No full textNon alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. The latter is mainly determined by the presence of overweight and type 2 diabetes, whose prevalence is rapidly raising in developed Countries (almost 40 % in adult US Americans in 2013 – 2016) [1] in keeping with more food availability, cheap trash food, rich in fat, and soft drinks rich in sugar. The trend is even more worrisome, if one considers also the rapidly
growing prevalence of children obesity. Given the magnitude of such a problem, expected to fully blow in the third decade of the third millennium, that we will be entering in less than 12 months, and the potential role of ultrasound in these patients a critical appraisal to this issue, as seen from the ultrasonographic standpoint, appears relevant
Artificial intelligence: What is it and how can it expand the ultrasound potential in the future?
No full textDuring the past century, our ability to perform complex calculations massively increased, due to the availability of powerful processors, and diffuse, ubiquitious presence of personal computers for home and professional applications. Many physicians are worried by the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine, envisioning an Asimov science-fiction scenario. But is this real? What the AI use in medicine and, particularly, ultrasonography actually entails
Role of CEUS in vascular pathology
No full textIn recent years, the implementation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in clinical practice has opened new horizons in the arterial pathologies research field, since this technique is able to supply new sets of data that can be crucial in patient management. The main applications of CEUS in the arterial system are the detection, characterization, and follow-up of carotid plaques and endoleaks after EVAR. Other situations in which CEUS was demonstrated to be a useful tool are large vessel vasculitis, dissections, and untreated aneurysms. In carotid atherosclerosis CEUS is not only able to acquire quantitative data about stenosis but also to perform a qualitative assessment of the plaque. The most important plaque features that CEUS is able to depict are ulceration, neovascularization, and the presence of inflammatory infiltrates. All of these factors contribute to plaque vulnerability. Thus, CEUS is crucial in order to allow better risk stratification and management of patients. In follow-up after EVAR, CEUS shows sensitivity and specificity values similar to CTA while ensuring several advantages, such as lower cost and the absence of ionizing radiation and nephrotoxic agents. Moreover, CEUS is able to offer real-time evaluation of endoleaks and thus is a useful tool in cases that are ambiguous on CTA. Most limitations are patient-related and are the same as in all other ultrasound techniques, such as high BMI and meteorism
Varicocoele. Classification and pitfalls
Full text linkBackground: Varicocoeles have been considered for a long time potentially correctable causes for male infertility, even though the correlation of this condition with infertility and sperm damage is still debated. Objective: To present a summary of the evidence evaluation for imaging varicocoeles, to underline the need for a standardized examination technique and for a unique classification, and to focus on pitfalls in image interpretation. Methods: Based on the evidence of the literature, the current role of ultrasound (US) imaging for varicocoeles has been reported and illustrated, with emphasis on examination technique, classification, and pitfalls. Results: US is the imaging modality of choice. It is widely used in Europe, while in other countries clinical classification of varicocoeles is considered sufficient to manage the patient. A number of US classifications exist for varicocoeles, in which the examinnation is performed in different ways. Discussion: An effort toward standardization is mandatory, since lack of standardization contributes to the confusion of the available literature, and has a negative impact on the understanding of the role itself of imaging in patients with varicocoeles. Conclusion: Use of the Sarteschi/Liguori classification for varicocoeles is recommended, since it is the most complete and widely used US scoring system available today. Tubular extratesticular structures resembling varicocoeles, either at palpation or at US, should be identified and correctly characterized
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