Ultrasound

When it comes to the transducers that power ultrasound, less is more. As they have gotten smaller, more has been packed into the handheld probes that host them, providing more information, allowing easier access to the body’s acoustic windows, and offering easier handling by operators. Now this triad of benefits might be in line for a further boost, a big one.

Sales of ultrasound equipment fared better last year than those of other, more costly, imaging products such as MR and CT. The reason, according to InMedica, the medical research division of IMS Research, may be as simple as the price tag.

Royal Philips Electronics announced it has acquired Shanghai Apex Electronics Technology, a leading Chinese manufacturer of ultrasound transducers, key determinants of image quality for ultrasound systems. The acquisition strengthens Philips’ portfolio of high-quality transducers specifically aimed at the value segment in emerging markets.

While the dramatic effects of the economic recession have been felt in the Western European and North American markets for ultrasound imaging equipment, the Chinese market has seen tremendous growth over the last two years. Driven by China’s ongoing healthcare reform, strong economic growth, and the Chinese population’s increasing awareness of healthcare issues, the second edition of InMedica’s study The China Market for Ultrasound Imaging Equipment – 2010 Edition predicts the Chinese market for ultrasound imaging equipment will exceed $1 billion by 2014, growing at a compounded average growth rate of 9.3%.

Ultrasound can help tissue grafts to survive and thrive following surgery, according to research in the Journal of Tissue Engineering.

Using transcranial Doppler ultrasound to detect asymptomatic cerebral emboli can identify patients who are at a higher risk of stroke and transient ischemic attack as well as those with a low absolute stroke risk, according to an international study.

A pilot study involving eight community midwives from Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust suggests that portable ultrasound has the potential to reduce hospital admissions for predelivery scans. This would eliminate the need for patients in remote areas to travel to appointments.

Synexus, a Manchester-based multinational company dedicated to the recruitment and running of clinical trials, has recently invested in Doppler ultrasound equipment for each of its seven U.K.-based dedicated research centers. After training for all Synexus’ doctors, the facilities are now being used as part of the drive to recruit patients to a new diabetes study.

Certain complex ovarian tumors may be safely monitored using ultrasound without raising the risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new study.

Radiation safety standards are becoming increasingly stringent. Ultrasound systems, however, present no such safety threats, and manufacturers are trying to enhance the versatility of these devices, both in primary and secondary diagnosis. Elastography and therapeutic and contrast-enhanced ultrasound are poised to herald new and more effective means of diagnosis.

Reducing the number of breast biopsies by better classifying suspicious lesions noninvasively could improve healthcare and cut healthcare costs, laudable goals in the current era of healthcare-and economic-reform.

It may be possible to use ultrasound as a reliable, low-cost form of male contraception, according to ongoing research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A new ultrasound technique that measures cell death, tumor elastography, and vascular patterns can better predict how well cancer patients are responding to chemotherapy, Canadian researchers report.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic and progressive inflammatory disease of the joints.

Adding strain ratio measurement to ultrasound elastography would provide a more objective way to differentiate benign from malignant breast lesions than a five-point scoring system now being used, according to a study presented at the European Congress of Radiology in March.

Ultrasound plus proteomic analysis of blood samples may help physicians identify early-stage ovarian cancer and save the lives of many women, according to researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University.

In women with nipple discharge, contrast breast MR has higheroverall sensitivity for detecting malignant and high-risk lesionsthan mammography or ultrasound.

A new survey from InMedica revealed over half of cardiologists surveyed across Russia and Eastern Europe had not received training on how to get the best use of their ultrasound imaging equipment. The situation was only slightly better for those working in general imaging, where approximately 40% had not received training on how to get the best use of their equipment.

The exhibition booths occupied by vendors of ultrasound systems at ECR 2010 are likely to be very busy places throughout the congress. Difficult economic conditions are causing a dip in global demand for the more capital-intensive modalities like CT and MRI, and hospital managers are keen for their staff to explore the clinical potential of this versatile and cost-effective technology.

Too few younger practicing radiologists are prepared to embrace ultrasound and push it to its clinical limits, according to Prof. Lorenzo Derchi, a professor of radiology at the University of Genoa in Italy.

Physicians have used palpation regularly as a diagnostic technique since the days of the ancient Greeks. Up to now, the potential value of this method has been explored in the imaging field only by ultrasound research teams, but at this year’s ECR technical exhibition, delegates can see for themselves how the same principles may be combined with MRI to improve diagnosis in patients with liver disease.

Measuring the fetal zone of the adrenal gland is a better predictor of preterm birth than measuring cervical length, according to research presented at the Society For Maternal-Fetal Medicine Feb. 4.

Sixteen years on from implementation of the Pre-Conception (PC) and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act, burdensome bureaucracy penalizes many law-abiding radiologists in India. Furthermore, rather than preventing them, the act has driven up the price of illegal sex selection services. Meanwhile, registered ultrasound clinics face heavy fines for minor infringements.

Breast ultrasound is having its moment. Multiple scientific presentations at the RSNA 2009 meeting showed how careful use of ultrasound could allow imagers to so precisely characterize lesions that women could avoid biopsies.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic and progressive inflammatory disease of the joints. It affects approximately 1% of the general population, with incidence being three times higher in women than men.

Breast ultrasound is having its moment. Multiple scientific presentations at the 2009 RSNA meeting showed how careful use of ultrasound could allow imagers to so precisely characterize lesions that women could avoid biopsies.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women. The risk of breast cancer typically increases with age in most countries.

Recent news coverage makes it seem as if women at high risk for breast cancer are refusing breast MRI screening left and right. That’s simply not the case, according to several experts.

Ultrasound elastography may be the link bridging the gap between suspicion and definitive proof, a noninvasive means to distinguish between benign and malignant tissue. The technology for doing so appeared some years ago at the annual meeting of the RSNA as an experimental curiosity. It’s been evolving since then until it appears now to have reached a clinical tipping point.

Though generally deemed safe, high-intensity focused-ultrasound ablation of liver and pancreas cancers can lead to delayed complications. According to Korean researchers, practitioners should be aware of-and watch closely for-local and systemic post-HIFU side effects several years down the road.