Visions: Mr. Soldner, you are considered the father of real-time ultrasonic technique. How did that happen? Richard Soldner: The answer isn't simple because the development of ultrasonic diagnostics and its modern state are the result of a multitude of developmental steps over many decades and come from the most diverse sources. For example, J. P. Joule already described the magnetorestrictive…
Visions: Mr. Soldner, you are considered the father of real-time ultrasonic technique. How did that happen? Richard Soldner: The answer isn't simple because the development of ultrasonic diagnostics and its modern state are the result of a multitude of developmental steps over many decades and come from the most diverse sources. For example, J. P. Joule already described the magnetorestrictive…
The evaluation of the size and function of the left ventricle in patients with suspected heart disease is a central diagnostic problem. In contrast to other methods of evaluating left-ventricular function (e.g., angiocardiography, right-sided heart catheterization, radionuclide ventriculography or MRI), transthoracic echocardiography is a widespread and readily available procedure that is not…
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is the combination of ultrasound and endoscopy, which allows placement of high-frequency transducers close to the intestinal wall and adjacent structures. As EUS enters its third decade, it is used for locoregional staging of many upper gastrointestinal malignancies, including cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, ampulla of Vater, extrahepatic bile ducts and…
The introduction of a new generation of microbubbles has created opportunities for ultrasound, and this is particularly true in the liver, where study of the arterial, venous and sinusoidal phases with an agent such as SonoVue at low ultrasound power levels (Iow mechanical index, MI) provides unique information. Similar diagnostic advantages can be obtained in diseases of the kidneys, spleen and…
There are a number of problems in contrast imaging using LevovistTM contrast agent. In Doppler mode, the problems are poor resolution and large areas of blooming. In 2nd harmonic imaging and pulse inversion imaging, there are problems related to tissue harmonic imaging (THI) because Levovist requires a high mechanical index (MI). THI increases under high-MI conditions, and THI interferes with…
The past several years, interventions using ultrasound for real-time image monitoring in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures have increasingly been integrated into the daily clinical routine. Limitations due to image-distorting physical effects, such as the total reflection at the soft tissue/lung boundary, are associated with the use of ultrasound. CT fluoroscopy on the other hand enables…
Case 1 50-year-old male with a colorectal cancer. Greyscale imaging clearly shows the lesion, as an echogenic 3 cm mass (Fig.l a), which must be considered as suspicious for a metastasis from his colorectal cancer but benefit of the doubt must be given. Colour Doppler (Fig. 1b) is not helpful. At 33 seconds after SonoVue injection (early sinusoidal phase), Vascular Recognition Imaging (VRI)…
In recent years, interventional procedures using realtime image control by means of Ultrasound have been increasingly integrated into the clinical routine as diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. However, a series of limitations in ultrasound result tram physical effects that interfere with the image. Combining fluoroscopy with a computed tomograph (CT) results in a procedure that enables…
Vascular Recognition Imaging (VRI) is a low MI broadband colour Doppler method that images the interactions of Sonovue with microbubbles in a non-destructive manner as perfusion images of a quality never before achieved. The perfusion image represents the low velocities of unmoving or barely moving microbubbles as green-coded tissue perfusion, while the higher velocities of the veins and arteries…
Without doubt, the B-mode imaging is the most important examination method in prenatal ultrasound. Well over 90% of detectable congenital anomalies can be recognised using the two-dimensional realtime imaging method. Hence, paramount importance is certainly ascribed to the quality of the B-mode image in an ultrasound system. In addition, other ultrasound modalities help us to considerably enhance…
Most babies are born healthy, but there is still a small risk for all women to give birth to a baby with some type of anomaly. Ultrasound has proven to be one of the most reliable procedures to prenatally diagnose some of these conditions. Ultrasound can be used during the entire pregnancy, but in the first trimester ultrasound examinations are, as a rule, used to exactly calculate the pregnancy,…
In May 2001, the world's first CT-XR hybrid suite for image guided therapy in paediatrics was put into operation. The new Centre for Image Guided Therapy (IGT) at The Hospital for Sick Children allows surgeons and interventional radiologists to do something that's never been done before - work side-by-side when diagnosing and treating children. A total of 4 interventional suites were equipped…
It has long been known that remaining at high altitudes leads to an increase in pulmonary arterial pressure caused by hypoxia. Its effects on cardiac function have also been considered well documented. The increase in pressure in the pulmonary circulation causes an enlargement of the right ventricle and thereby causes a displacement of the left ventricle that is accompanied by a relaxation…
Ultrasound scanning has been shown to cause a wide range of work related injuries. Indeed, according to recent studies, 70 - 80% of sonographers suffer work related pain (The Society of Radiographers, 1997, Arrowsmith, 2000) and industry standards suggest that 20% of sonographers in the UK are actually forced to end their career (Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 2003). Poor equipment…
As part of a Welsh Assembly Government sponsored exercise for the replacement of radiology equipment within NHS Wales, Toshiba Medical Systems Limited was awarded a framework agreement for a 2-year period for the supply of ultrasound equipment until April 2005. Following an evaluation exercise undertaken by representative clinical staff within NHS Wales, Toshiba were chosen as the preferred…
Twenty years ago, during the construction of the Henri Duffaut Hospital in the community of Avignon, on the banks of the Durance, we transferred our radiology service at the Hospital St. Marthe (today the University Centre of Avignon, classified as a historical monument by the government) to the first floor of the new hospital. Over the years, our service has been restructured and adapted to the…
Since the beginning of the 90s, sonography has been a solid diagnostic pillar in ophthalmology centers, but it is also used by related medical disciplines, such as pediatrics, whose patients require ophthalmological treatment. For all age groups, the fundus of the eye, and especially the optic disk, is well-suited for high-frequency sonography with linear transducers. This type of examination…
The rare disease Takayasu's arteritis (TA) belongs to the vasculitis group of diseases and is also known as inflammatory aortic arch syndrome or as pulseless disease because of its typical clinical picture. The pathological-anatomical manifestations include inflammatory transformation of the media and adventitia with the appearance of giant cells, hence the term giant cell arteritis is also used.…
Chromosomal abnormalities are major causes of perinatal death and childhood handicap. Consequently, the detection of chromosomal disorders constitutes the most frequent indication for invasive prenatal diagnosis. However, invasive testing, by amniocentesis, chorionicvillus sampling (CVS) or cordocentesis, is associated with a risk of miscarriage of about 1% and therefore these tests are carried…
In October 2004 Toshiba introduced Xario, its new, premium high-end ultrasound scanner to the market and exhibited the system at major congresses throughout Europe. The following article gives an overview of its features and functions and provides an insight into the latest technological developments for meeting the rapidly changing demands of today's challenging clinical practice.
Xario, Toshiba's new ultrasound system, has been tested at the Charité University Hospital, Berlin, by Dr Thomas Fischer, radiologist and ultrasound specialist. In a VISIONS interview, we asked Dr Fischer for his observations.
Ultrasound contrast agents (USCA) or echo enhancers consist of minute gas containing microbubbles that have a high reflectivity when exposed to an ultrasound field. The history of USCA started in the mid of the 1960s. The cardiologist Joyner performed echo cardiography during the injection of saline solution into the aortic root via a catheter. During the injection he observed bright signals on…
It sounds quite far fetched to connect ultrasound examinations to dolphins or does it? In Europe there are about 300 dolphins under human care and with most of these animals ultrasound examinations are quite common.
Three-dimensional transrectal ultrasonography (3D-TRUS) allows accurate 3D examination of pathological structures and prediction of extracapsular tumor extension.
