Ultrasound

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High-intensity focused ultrasound ablation is used to manage localized prostate cancer after external-beam radiation therapy. But post-treatment alterations to prostate zonal anatomy hamper the assessment of local tumor progression that influences decisions about second-line treatment.

You know time is marching on when the junior doctors-and even some professors-look young enough to be your offspring. They request examinations using abbreviations that would make you think of an offroad vehicle if only you could read the request form. You know you left your glasses somewhere, but you need your glasses to look for them!

Evaluation of carotid artery plaque density performed on serial ultrasound scans could help identify patients at high risk for a heart attack or other adverse cardiovascular events, according to Austrian researchers.

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Multislice CT angiography should be the preferred choice over MR angiography or duplex ultrasound for initial evaluation of patients with suspected peripheral arterial disease.

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High-intensity focused ultrasound ablation is used to manage localized prostate cancer after external-beam radiation therapy. But post-treatment alterations to prostate zonal anatomy hamper the assessment of local tumor progression that influences decisions about second-line treatment. An interdisciplinary group from Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and Kangwon National University School of Medicine in South Korea tested two MR techniques for predicting local tumor progression.

This month's cover story ("MR elastography inspires new wave of hepatic imaging," page 20) is devoted to a rare event: the birth of a new imaging modality. MR elastography is a wonder of human ingenuity that employs MRI, a modality that itself still seems like a miracle.

Just in time for a looming onset of new liver disease, MR elastography has arrived to employ principles as old as palpation and as new as cross-sectional imaging to create an accurate, noninvasive way to diagnose and stage hepatic fibrosis and other liver disorders.

Pro-radiology forces are claiming mandated Medicare accreditation as a victory. They will have to wait until January 2012, however, to see the actual implementation of federal law passed in July to mandate accreditation for high-tech medical imaging covered by outpatient Medicare.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a three-year contract to the American College of Radiology to serve as the accrediting organization for 33 VA hospital radiation oncology facilities across the country.

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Robotic tools that could one day perform surgery on battlefields, in space, and at remote locations with minimal human guidance use 3D ultrasound as a key component.

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Calvarial dermoids and epidermoids in young pediatric patients can be monitored using ultrasound alone instead of x-ray based imaging, according to German researchers. Besides being safer and cheaper, sonography could rule out unnecessary surgeries.

Molecular imaging researchers have shown that coronary vascular dysfunction uncovered with PET may be diagnostically more powerful than vascular ultrasound or CT calcium tests for identifying early coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes patients.

Color Doppler ultrasound, not CT, should be the first imaging modality for triage of adult patients with suspected acute appendicitis, according to a study from Israel.

Women with uterine fibroids remain in the dark about the potential benefits of uterine artery embolization more than a decade after the development of the nonsurgical treatment. Specialists contend that both ob/gyn providers and interventional radiologists should intensify efforts to educate women with the condition about their treatment options.

Screening ultrasound paired with mammography improved breast cancer detection in high-risk women, but the combination also caused a spike in the number of false positives, according to an update to the American College of Radiology Imaging Network 6666 trial. These results may render ultrasound less attractive than MRI in this patient population.

Ultrasound experts have challenged their colleagues and regulatory agencies to scientifically validate the benefits and risks of clinical sonography.

Bedside ultrasound can be a valuable diagnostic tool for monitoring pulmonary congestion in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. As the heart weakens, fluid backs up into the lungs, and critical patients could benefit greatly by being monitored for their condition without having to be moved for radiographs or other diagnostic tests.

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An Achilles’ heel may not be such a bad thing after all. Data from a prospective study performed in Switzerland on more than 6000 women showed that an ultrasound scan of the heel, combined with other clinical parameters, may predict the risk of fractures in elderly women afflicted by osteoporosis.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound with microflow imaging provides noninvasive analysis of the vascular structure and hemodynamics of liver nodules. This analysis, in turn, provides information about how advanced hepatocellular carcinoma is.

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Endoscopic ultrasound, a common test for adults, is rarely used on children. Researchers in Israel who studied the efficacy of the test on these smaller patients have found it to be a safe and effective tool for diagnosing pediatric gastroenterology patients.

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Diastematomyelia case study: A 40-year-old man with upper and lower back pain. He denied any bowel or bladder dysfunction, radiating symptoms, or motor deficits.

Solid renal parenchymal lesions with a diameter of 5 cm or less can be difficult to diagnose, requiring irradiation and biopsy. Catching renal cell carcinoma in early stages before tumors grow larger than 7 cm, however, increases a patient’s chances of survival over five years. Researchers in China have found that contrast-enhanced ultrasound can accurately diagnose these small lesions.