This paper describes the use of clinician-performed ultrasound to detect sternal fractures in trauma patients. It is a pictorial essay that describes the ultrasound technique, the normal anatomy and ultrasound findings, variants, potential pitfalls and the appearance of fractures when they occur in both children and adults.

To determine the correlation between the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve measured at the wrist using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography (US) and the electrophysiological severity of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

In Fiji, a Pacific island nation, ultrasonography practice is still in its infancy. Ultrasounds are performed by radiographers who independently interpret the ultrasonographic images and write the diagnostic reports on behalf of the radiologists. This paper presents research on the practices and procedures that are used to perform the mid-trimester obstetric ultrasonography examinations at an urban public hospital in Fiji. The participants comprised a cohort of "on-the-job" trained radiographers, radiologists and obstetricians involved in obstetric ultrasonography. In-field observations, questionnaires and interviews yielded predominantly qualitative data. The radiographers' scanning criteria were evaluated against the stipulated ASUM mid-trimester guidelines. This study revealed that even the most experienced radiographers barely met 50% of ASUM's mid-trimester scanning requirements. They spent less than five minutes performing a scan and insufficient expertise, training and supervision, excessive workload and a lack of resources were major constraints affecting the standards of ultrasonography practice in Fiji. However, the absence of a standard protocol was also a major cause for disparate scanning patterns amongst the radiographers. This paper highlights the gaps and limitations associated with the obstetric ultrasonography practice in Fiji, and suggests the need for international assistance in ultrasonography education.

This study was designed to perform a comparative analysis between endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and double contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCEUS) for the preoperative diagnosis of gastric stromal tumors (GSTs).

Ferrogels (FG) are magnetic composites that are widely used in the area of biomedical engineering and biosensing. In this work, ferrogels with different concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were synthesized by the radical polymerization of acrylamide in stabilized aqueous ferrofluid. FG samples were prepared in various shapes that are suitable for different characterization techniques. Thin cylindrical samples were used to simulate the case of targeted drug delivery test through blood vessels. Samples of larger size that were in the shape of cylindrical plates were used for the evaluation of the FG applicability as substitutes for damaged structures, such as bone or cartilage tissues. Regardless of the shape of the samples and the conditions of their location, the boundaries of FG were confidently visualized over the entire range of concentrations of MNPs while using medical ultrasound. The amplitude of the reflected echo signal was higher for the higher concentration of MNPs in the gel. This result was not related to the influence of the MNPs on the intensity of the reflected echo signal directly, since the wavelength of the ultrasonic effect used is much larger than the particle size. Qualitative theoretical model for the understanding of the experimental results was proposed while taking into account the concept that at the acoustic oscillations of the hydrogel, the macromolecular net, and water in the gel porous structure experience the viscous Stocks-like interaction.

Teleradiology consists of electronic transmission of radiological images from one location to another, including between countries, for interpretation and/or consultation. It is one of the most successful applications of telemedicine. Combining this methodology with ultrasound (called telesonography) can accelerate the process of making diagnoses. Despite this rationale, the quality of the evidence about the effectiveness and accuracy of teleradiology remains unknown.

This report describes a case of guide sheath breakage during endobronchial ultrasonography. While steering the guide sheath in the direction of a peripheral lung nodule using a guiding device/curette, the radiopaque band (RB) attached to the head of the guide sheath dislodged and remained in the peripheral bronchus near the tumour. The band could not be removed endoscopically. As the tumour was diagnosed as a colon cancer metastasis, we performed a partial lung resection to remove the RB and nodule together four months after bronchoscopy.

No abstract available

This study compared clinical and radiologic differences between cystic biliary atresia (cBA) and choledochal cyst (CC) type Ia/b.

The human skeletal muscle has a pivotal role in preserving health by maintaining mobility, balance, and metabolic homeostasis. Significant muscle loss as a part of aging and accelerated by disease leads to sarcopenia which becomes an important predictor of quality of life in older persons. Therefore, clinical screening for sarcopenia and validation by precise qualitative and quantitative measurement of skeletal muscle mass (MM) and function is at the center-stage of translational research. Many imaging modalities are available, each having their strengths and limitations, either in interpretation, technical processes, time constraints, or expense. B-mode ultrasonography (US) is a relatively novel approach to evaluating muscle. It can measure several parameters such as MM and architecture simultaneously including muscle thickness, cross-sectional area, echogenicity, pennate angle, and fascicle length. It can also evaluate dynamic parameters like muscle contraction force and muscle microcirculation. US has not gained global attention due to a lack of consensus on standardization and diagnostic threshold values to diagnose sarcopenia. However, it is an inexpensive and widely available technique with clinical applicability. The ultrasound-derived parameters correlate well with strength and functional capacity and provide potential prognostic information. Our aim is to present an update on the evidence-based role of this promising technique in sarcopenia, its advantages over the existing modalities, and its limitations in actual practice with the hope that it may emerge as the "stethoscope" for community diagnosis of sarcopenia.

To assess the reliability of quantitative muscle ultrasonography (US) in healthy subjects and to evaluate the correlation between quantitative muscle US findings and electrodiagnostic study results in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The clinical significance of quantitative muscle US in CTS was also assessed.

Modern clinical practice benefits significantly from imaging technologies and much effort is directed toward making this imaging more informative through the addition of contrast agents or reporters. Here, we report the design of a battery-less integrated circuit mote acting as an electronic reporter during medical ultrasound imaging. When implanted within the field-of-view of a brightness-mode (B-mode) ultrasound imager, this mote transmits information from its location through backscattered acoustic energy which is captured within the ultrasound image itself. We prototype and characterize the operation of such motes in vitro and in vivo. Performing with a static power consumption of less than 57 pW, the motes operate at duty cycles for receiving acoustic energy as low as 50 ppm. Motes within the same field-of-view during imaging have demonstrated signal-to-noise ratios of more than 19.1 dB at depths of up to 40 mm in lossy phantom. Physiological information acquired through such motes, which is beyond what is measurable with endogenous ultrasound backscatter and which is biogeographically located within an image, has the potential to provide an augmented ultrasonography.

Cell mechanics play a key role in several fundamental biological processes, such as migration, proliferation, differentiation and tissue morphogenesis. In addition, many diseased conditions of the cell are correlated with altered cell mechanics, as in the case of cancer progression. For this there is much interest in methods that can map mechanical properties with a sub-cell resolution. Here, we demonstrate an inverted pulsed opto-acoustic microscope (iPOM) that operates in the 10 to 100 GHz range. These frequencies allow mapping quantitatively cell structures as thin as 10 nm and resolving the fibrillar details of cells. Using this non-invasive all-optical system, we produce high-resolution images based on mechanical properties as the contrast mechanisms, and we can observe the stiffness and adhesion of single migrating stem cells. The technique should allow transferring the diagnostic and imaging abilities of ultrasonic imaging to the single-cell scale, thus opening new avenues for cell biology and biomaterial sciences.

Based on the topographic distribution of α-synuclein-enriched Lewy bodies, it has been hypothesized that Parkinson's disease may start in the gastrointestinal tract and gain access to the central nervous system via the vagus nerve. Since ultrasonography is a powerful tool to study peripheral nerve disturbances, we conducted ultrasonography of the vagus nerve in 32 patients with Parkinson's disease, 15 disease controls and 15 healthy controls. The cross-sectional area and echogenicity measured on transverse scans of the vagus nerve did not differ significantly between these groups. Therefore, the observed intraneuronal changes in Parkinson's disease are not associated with ultrasonographic disruptions of the vagus nerve integrity. HIGHLIGHTS We studied ultrasonography of the vagus nerve in 32 patients with Parkinson's disease and in 15 disease controls and 15 healthy controls.The sonographic cross-sectional area measured using high-frequency linear array transducers did not differ significantly between both groups.Ultrasonography of the vagal nerve does not reflect cellular damage caused by α-synuclein-enriched Lewy bodies in nerves of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Esophageal cancer staging is important for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a common diagnostic tool for esophageal cancer prior to surgery. However, EUS is unable to accurately discriminate the N-staging of lymph nodes. In order to distinguish an optimized standard for malignant lymph node diagnosis, the present study compared lymph nodes detected by EUS and surgery. A total of 112 patients were preoperatively examined with EUS and staged according to the 7th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual. The results of EUS were compared with surgical findings. The critical values of long diameter, short diameter and lymph node number detected by EUS were >7.5, >5.5 mm and >2, respectively; indexes, including long diameter >7.5 mm, short diameter >5.5 mm, round, low echo, edge smooth, near lesion and detected lymph node number (>2) and T3/4 staging, met significance in the EUS group compared with the surgical group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the area under curve (AUC) value of the EUS (0.801) was superior to the conventional, surgical method (0.779). Although EUS improved the diagnostic accuracy of esophageal N staging, it was not able to satisfactorily distinguish between N2 and N3 staging. Advancements in EUS may enhance its detection ability, further improving the diagnostic accuracy of lymph node metastasis.

Non-enhancing diffuse gliomas are a challenging surgical proposition. Delineation of tumour extent on preoperative imaging and intraoperative visualization are often difficult.

Diseased, injured, or dysfunctional skeletal muscles may demonstrate abnormal function and contractility. Currently, only few in vivo imaging techniques are able to characterize the contractile properties of muscle tissue. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that muscle strain can be tracked in two upper extremity skeletal muscles by speckle-tracking ultrasonography (STU) and correlates with isometric muscle contractions.

Timely and adequate laryngeal elevation along with hyoid bone movement is an essential component of the swallowing movement under normal physiological conditions. The purpose of this study was to verify the reproducibility of using ultrasonography to evaluate hyoid bone displacement during swallowing through the assessment of inter- and intrarater reliability and examine its accuracy by comparing the results with videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS).

Among the tools useful for the management of neuropathic pain, ultrasound presents several advantages, shown by the literature. We assessed the scientific production about neuropathic pain and ultrasound from different points of view: general topics, journal categories, geographical origin and lexical analysis. We searched papers on PubMed using the Medical Subject Headings "neuropathic pain" AND "ultrasound". We collected data about the journals where the papers were published, the country of the affiliation of the first author. For the lexical analysis, we evaluated the presence of selected words in the papers, and we built a graph representing the connections among words and papers. The papers were focused on the use of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool and guide for the therapy, assessing its application in different diseases such as Morton's neuroma and piriformis syndrome. The most represented journal category was anesthesia while the most common country the United States of America. The lexical analysis confirmed the importance of ultrasound for diagnosis of specific disease and treatment of pain. The described approaches provide a multiperspective evaluation of the literature and may support the interpretation of the information contained by the papers.

The aim of the study was to assess patient selection for embolization of varicoceles based on ultrasonography. An additional objective of the work was to evaluate the results of endovascular treatment.