February 24, 2021 — Dovepress
Abstract
Objective: To assess the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) technology in predicting axillary lymph nodes status before surgery, and to explore the feasibility of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) localization guided by CEUS combined with 125I implantation for breast cancer.
Methods: From August 2017 to February 2019, 115 patients were included in this prospective study. Before surgery, a microbubble (SonoVue) was injected intradermally next to the areola. The enhancement patterns of SLNs were recorded and 125I seeds (read more…)

February 22, 2021 — Gastroenterology Advisor
By Brandon May
In this multicenter Korean trial, 240 consecutive patients (mean age, 67.30 years) with solid pancreatic lesions were randomly assigned to undergo either CEH-EUS (n=120) as participants in the interventional group or only conventional EUS (n=120) as participants in the control group.
Researchers compared CEH-EUS-guided fine needle aspiration/biopsy with EUS-guided fine needle aspiration/biopsy in terms of their diagnostic sensitivity for solid pancreatic lesions and the optimal number of needle passes for pathologic diagnosis. The researchers (read more…)

February 22, 2021 — AuntMinnie.com
Bracco is set to introduce a 20-vial package of its Lumason ultrasound contrast agent following clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The new packaging of Lumason (sulfur hexafluoride lipid-type A microspheres) contrast is a good option for the environmentally conscious and better from the point of view of storage space, according to the company. Each vial contains 25 mg of lipid-type A lyophilized powder and 60.7 mg of sulfur hexafluoride headspace, and a (read more…)

Recent advances in ultrasound image systems include AI, automation, POCUS and development of therapeutic systems
February 18, 2021 — Imaging Technology News
Abstract
Recent advances in ultrasound image systems seen over the past year include the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), automation of functions and measurements, introduction of very specialized tool sets, the rapid growth in point-of-care systems, improved ergonomics, and on the horizon, the development of therapeutic ultrasound systems for cardiovascular and cancer therapies. These trends are highlighted in the breakout sections (read more…)

February 18, 2021 — Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Abstract
Distinguishing between other hepatic malignancies (OMs) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is vital to allow clinicians to determine optimal treatment and assess prognosis in patients at high risk for HCC. This study evaluated the performance of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) versus contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) for differentiating HCC from OMs in patients at high risk for HCC. This retrospective study consecutively enrolled 106 high-risk patients (read more…)

February 16, 2021 — Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Abstract
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major obstacle to treating several brain disorders. Focused ultrasound (FUS) in combination with intravascular microbubbles increases BBB permeability by opening tight junctions, creating endothelial cell openings, improving endocytosis and increasing transcytosis. Here we investigated whether combining FUS and microbubbles with transferrin receptor-targeting liposomes would result in enhanced delivery to the brain of post-natal rats compared with liposomes lacking the BBB-targeting moiety. For all animals, increased BBB (read more…)

Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound, State of the Art in North America
Ultrasound Quarterly 
Authors; Richard Barr, et al
Guidelines for non-cardiac CEUS, published as a SRU white paper in September 2020 and reported subsequently in the ICUS Weekly News Monitor, are now included on the ICUS website.
Visit icus-society.org and click on ‘Body Imaging’ for liver, renal and bowel imaging.

February 6, 2021 — BIO Integration
Abstract
Ultrasound combined with microbubble-mediated sonoporation has been applied to enhance drug or gene intracellular delivery. Sonoporation leads to the formation of openings in the cell membrane, triggered by ultrasound-mediated oscillations and destruction of microbubbles. Multiple mechanisms are involved in the occurrence of sonoporation, including ultrasonic parameters, microbubbles size, and the distance of microbubbles to cells. Recent advances are beginning to extend applications through the assistance of contrast agents, which allow ultrasound to connect directly to (read more…)

February 5, 2021 — Science Advances
Abstract
Focused ultrasound (FUS) in the presence of microbubbles can transiently open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to increase therapeutic agent penetration at the targeted brain site to benefit recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) treatment. This study is a dose-escalating pilot trial using a device combining neuronavigation and a manually operated frameless FUS system to treat rGBM patients. The safety and feasibility were established, while a dose-dependent BBB-opening effect was observed, which reverted to baseline within 24 hours after (read more…)

February 4, 2021 — Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Abstract
The aim of this randomized controlled laboratory study was to evaluate the role of standardized protection, rest, ice (cryotherapy), compression and elevation (PRICE) therapy on microvascular blood flow in human skeletal muscle. Quantifiable contrast-enhanced ultrasound was used to analyze intramuscular tissue perfusion (ITP) of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius (VI) muscles in 20 healthy athletes who were randomly assigned to PRICE or control groups. Baseline perfusion measurements (resting conditions, T0) (read more…)