Ultrasound

What’s happening with the American Roentgen Ray Society? Its annual meeting, known mainly for the quality of its refresher course, has become an essential point of coverage for world-class scientific research as well.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound detected portal vein thrombosis far better than CT in cases complicating hepatocellular carcinoma. While CT found only 68% of thrombi, contrast-enhanced ultrasound identified every one in the study. It also did a far better job of helping determine if they were malignant.

Pairing chemoembolization with radiofrequency ablation improved survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular cancer, according to a multidisciplinary group based at Shangdong University in Jinan, China. Their study results demonstrated how tumor microarchitecture could be manipulated to boost localized therapy.

Doppler ultrasound shows that diabetic nephropathy may affect the kidneys of pediatric diabetes patients long before clinical indications become evident. Diabetes-related microvascular complications rarely reach clinical stages in childhood, but researchers investigated whether Doppler ultrasound could identify differences in the renal blood flow of children with diabetes compared with normal controls.

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Statistics about the projected increase of cancer rates in the Asia Pacific region are, to put it mildly, thought-provoking. The World Health Organization, for instance, estimates that South-Central Asia, East Asia, and Australasia are likely to experience a rise of between 50% and 75% in cancer occurrence by 2020. Its estimate of 75% to 100% for Southeastern Asia is even more alarming.

Siemens unveils IS enhancementVolcano upgrades IVUS platformOlympic studies leverage GE ultrasoundAgfa signs on to Canadian e-HealthMcKesson wins delivery network contract

Technique Helps Avoid Biopsies Of Benign Masses

Technique May Offer Alternative To Radiotherapy, Avoid Side Effects

Judging by recent large clinical trials on two different imaging platforms, breast ultrasound elastography is moving closer to mainstream use as a means of helping prevent biopsies of benign lesions. Elastography refers to the measurement of elastic properties of tissues. On elastography images, obtained while the region of interest is compressed, malignancies appear to be larger relative to conventional ultrasound images.

Transvaginal ultrasound examination results predict the ultimate success of in vitro fertilization best when performed on the same day that human chorionic gonadotrophin is administered.

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Preoperative cardiac stress tests in hip fracture patients lead to unnecessary surgical delays and prolonged hospital stays, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The group suggested that routine stress testing was not necessary, as screening with either dobutamine stress echocardiography or sestamibi scans had very little impact on patient management.

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Portable ultrasound has successfully imaged patients being transported to the hospital via helicopter, allowing for early assessment of internal abdominal injuries and fluid in the pericardium. The examiners used standard focused assessment by sonography in trauma (FAST) protocols.

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Endoscopic ultrasound identified pancreatic lesions when abdominal CT findings showed only enlarged or prominent pancreas. This finding is a common result of CT scans of the pancreas, but its clinical significance is unclear. One group of researchers that followed up such CT scans using endoscopic ultrasound was able to conclusively identify lesions, including pancreatic cancer.

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Radiologists are playing a central role in the aftermath of terror attacks in Israel, according to a report at the European Congress of Radiology. CT is now regarded as the primary diagnostic tool in incidents involving multiple casualties, Dr. Ahuva Engel told attendees at the “ESR meets Israel” session.

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Neovascularity measured with power Doppler ultrasound can be used to both diagnose and rule out tennis elbow. This approach could improve patient care, as clinicians start their search sooner for less common causes of elbow pain, instead of waiting to see if treatment for tennis elbow resolves the problem.

One of the world’s smallest portable scanners, a new approach to 3D imaging, an award-winning convertible platform, and a novel method for detecting deep body tumors are among the many ultrasound highlights in the Technical Exhibition at ECR 2008.

Radiologists are playing a central role in the aftermath of terror attacks in Israel, delegates heard on Sunday. CT is now regarded as the primary diagnostic tool in incidents involving multiple casualties, Dr. Ahuva Engel told attendees at the “ESR meets Israel” session.

The number of CT scans performed in the pediatric abdomen in the U.S. is high compared with Europe, possibly because doctors fear legal action in the case of a missed pathology or disease. Rather than using CT for appendicitis, many doctors in the Netherlands still prefer to use ultrasound to visualize the swollen, fluid-filled, or normal appendix.

Two new ultrasound elastography techniques show promise for the diagnosis and characterization of breast lesions, according to researchers from France and Korea. They could complement standard gray-scale sonography, evaluate suspicious microcalcifications detected with conventional mammography, and do away with unnecessary, painful needle biopsies.

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Stenosis of 75% or greater indicates aggressive treatment in consensus statement for clinical pratice

Focused ultrasound excels for prostate cancer therapy