November 11, 2019 — AuntMinnie.com
By Kate Madden Yee
What’s not to like about ultrasound? It’s cost-effective, portable, and noninvasive — and it’s proving to be an effective tool for a wide range of applications, from treating uterine fibroids and identifying hydrocephalus in children to diagnosing enlarged veins in patients with cirrhosis.
At this year’s RSNA meeting, ultrasound’s versatility will be on display via scientific presentations and posters, as well as refresher courses that will keep sonographers at the top of their (read more…)

Cirrhotic Nodule Transformation to Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Natural History and Predictive Biomarkers on Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound
January 1, 2020 — American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR)
ABSTRACT :
OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to identify sonographic biomarkers predicting or indicating eventual malignant transformation of pathologically confirmed cirrhotic nodules.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. Thirty-nine consecutive patients with 44 pathologically confirmed cirrhotic nodules (mean size, 17.5 ± 8.5 [SD] mm) who initially underwent contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination at detection and then underwent follow-up conventional ultrasound every 3–4 months thereafter (read more…)

Automated multiparametric localization of prostate cancer based on B-mode, shear-wave elastography, and contrast-enhanced ultrasound radiomics
European Radiology — October 10, 2019
Abstract
Objectives
The aim of this study was to assess the potential of machine learning based on B-mode, shear-wave elastography (SWE), and dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) radiomics for the localization of prostate cancer (PCa) lesions using transrectal ultrasound.
Methods
This study was approved by the institutional review board and comprised 50 men with biopsy-confirmed PCa that were referred for radical prostatectomy. Prior to surgery, patients (read more…)

Health Imaging — October 8, 2019
By Matt O’Connor
Radiologists can confidently use the contrast-enhanced ultrasound liver imaging reporting and data system (CEUS LI-RADS) to categorize patients at high-risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to an Oct. 8 study published in the European Journal of Radiology.
Four ultrasound physicians used CEUS LI-RADS to rate the HCC likelihood of focal liver lesions (FLLs) in more than 1,000 patients. Upon analysis, first author Jia Wu Li and colleagues found the readers largely agreed on CEUS (read more…)

Oct 5, 2019 – Good News Network
Scientists have unveiled a new technique using a super-resolution ultrasound method that improves resolution by 5 to 10 times compared to standard ultrasound images.
The procedure, which allows whole organs to be scanned in super-resolution for the first time, is expected to lead to earlier cancer diagnoses and allow medical staff to more effectively target treatments to any malignant tissue. In fact, it could eventually replace the need for biopsy altogether.
Writing in the Journal of (read more…)

Sep 30, 2019 – BBC Scotland
By Kenneth Macdonald, BBC Scotland Science Correspondent
A new ultrasound technique is being hailed as the biggest breakthrough in the technology for more than 60 years. Developed at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, it produces images that are 10 times better than current scans.
Researchers believe its ability to precisely pinpoint tumours could one day replace biopsies in investigating suspected cancer cases. The method, which is about to begin trials in human patients, uses existing scanning equipment.
In 1958, (read more…)

September 6, 2019 — AuntMinnie.com staff writers
The benefits of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) are being highlighted at the International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) Bubble Conference in Chicago.
Among many other presentations, ICUS is highlighting the following research delivered at the conference:

A team led by Dr. Dirk-André Clevert of the University of Munich safely performed CEUS scans in pregnant women with suspected liver tumors.
A group led by Dr. Misun Hwang of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia used CEUS to diagnose brain injuries (read more…)

August, 2019 — Abdominal Radiology
Abstract
Purpose
To show the contribution of CEUS to characterization of indeterminate MRI observations in high-risk patients for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods
From July to December 2015, 42 consecutive patients referred to CEUS with indeterminate MRI scans comprise our study cohort. There are 50 indeterminate nodule-like observations and 10 arterial phase hyperenhancing foci, suggest-ing pseudolesions/arterio-portal shunts. MRI and CEUS lesions are classified according to their enhancement features in all phases and Liver Imaging and Reporting Data System (LI-RADS) in a (read more…)

Augmentation of Tissue Perfusion in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease Using Microbubble Cavitation
JACC Cardiovascular Imaging — August, 2019
Abstract
Objectives
The authors investigated ideal acoustic conditions on a clinical scanner custom-programmed for ultrasound (US) cavitation-mediated flow augmentation in preclinical models. We then applied these conditions in a first-in-human study to test the hypothesis that contrast US can increase limb perfusion in normal subjects and patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD).
Background
US-induced cavitation of microbubble contrast agents augments tissue perfusion by convective shear and secondary (read more…)

The better effects of microbubble ultrasound transfection of miR-940 on cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion in human cervical cancer cells.
Dovepress — August 21, 2019
Purpose:
Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of women’s cancer-related death. MiR-940 has been reported as a critical factor in various cancers. Based on the high transfection efficiency and low side effect, the clinical application of microbubble ultrasound contrast agent in gene treatment has attracted a widespread attention. In this study, we determined the mechanism of (read more…)