Improvement of the accuracy of liver lesion DCEUS quantification with the use of automatic respiratory gating.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency of automatic respiratory gating (ARG) in reducing respiratory motion-induced artefacts from dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCEUS) acquisitions and to assess the impact of ARG on DCEUS quantification parameters in patients with liver malignancies.

Methods: Twenty-five patients with liver metastasis were imaged with DCEUS. The lognormal indicator dilution model was fitted on time-intensity curves extracted from hepatic lesions with and without the use of ARG and DCEUS quantification parameters were extracted.

Guidelines and good clinical practice recommendations for Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in the liver - update 2012: A WFUMB-EFSUMB initiative in cooperation with representatives of AFSUMB, AIUM, ASUM, FLAUS and ICUS.

Initially, a set of guidelines for the use of ultrasound contrast agents was published in 2004 dealing only with liver applications. A second edition of the guidelines in 2008 reflected changes in the available contrast agents and updated the guidelines for the liver, as well as implementing some non-liver applications. Time has moved on, and the need for international guidelines on the use of CEUS in the liver has become apparent.

Reproducibility of quantitative assessment of altered hepatic hemodynamics with dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Objectives: The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the reproducibility of quantitative assessment of altered hepatic hemodynamics with dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Methods: Fifteen patients with colorectal liver metastases and 5 volunteers were studied. The hepatic artery proper and the portal vein were imaged simultaneously with dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Irreversible electroporation for focal ablation at the porta hepatis.

Patients with chemotherapy-refractory liver metastases who are not candidates for surgery may be treated with focal ablation techniques with established survival benefits. Irreversible electroporation is the newest of these and has the putative advantages of a nonthermal action, preventing damage to adjacent biliary structures and bowel. This report describes the use of irreversible electroporation in a 61-year-old man with a solitary chemoresistant liver metastasis unsuitable for radiofrequency ablation as a result of its proximity to the porta hepatis.

Dose-dependent artifact in the far wall of the carotid artery at dynamic contrast-enhanced US.

Purpose: To quantify a pseudoenhancement phenomenon observed during dynamic contrast material-enhanced ultrasonography (US) of the carotid artery, both in vitro and in vivo.

Materials And Methods: Ethical approval was obtained prior to commencing this prospective case series, and each patient gave written informed consent. Thirty-one patients with 50%-99% internal carotid artery stenosis underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced US of the carotid bifurcation with use of 2 mL of microbubbles.

Late-phase contrast-enhanced ultrasound reflects biological features of instability in human carotid atherosclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Development of translational functional imaging modalities for atherosclerosis risk stratification is sought for stroke prediction. Our group has developed late-phase contrast-enhanced ultrasound (LP-CEUS) to quantify microbubble contrast retention within carotid atherosclerosis and shown it to separate asymptomatic plaques from those responsible for recent cerebrovascular events. We hypothesized that microbubbles are retained in areas of plaque inflammation, aiming to examine whether LP-CEUS signal reflects plaque biology.

Assessment of global liver blood flow with quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Objectives: This study assessed the potential of quantitative analysis of contrast bolus kinetics to reflect global liver blood flow.

Methods: A dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound flow phantom was developed. A peristaltic pump established constant volume flow ranging between 16.

Dexamethasone arterializes venous endothelial cells by inducing mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1: a novel antiinflammatory treatment for vein grafts?

Background: Vein grafting in coronary artery surgery is complicated by a high restenosis rate resulting from the development of vascular inflammation, intimal hyperplasia, and accelerated atherosclerosis. In contrast, arterial grafts are relatively resistant to these processes. Vascular inflammation is regulated by signaling intermediaries, including p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, that trigger endothelial cell (EC) expression of chemokines (eg, interleukin-8, monocyte chemotactic protein-1) and other proinflammatory molecules.

Perfusion quantification using dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound: the impact of dynamic range and gain on time-intensity curves.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of dynamic range and gain on perfusion quantification using linearized log-compressed data. An indicator-dilution experiment was developed with an in vitro flow phantom setup used with SonoVue contrast agent (Bracco SpA, Milan, Italy). Imaging was performed with a Philips iU22 scanner and a C5-1 curvilinear transducer using a contrast-specific nonlinear pulse sequence (power modulation) at 1.

Inflammation within carotid atherosclerotic plaque: assessment with late-phase contrast-enhanced US.

Purpose: To determine if the number of nontargeted microbubbles retained in human carotid plaque is sufficient to be detected with ultrasonography (US).

Materials And Methods: The study protocol was approved by the local research ethics committee. Informed consent was obtained.

Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the commonest cancers worldwide, particularly in parts of the developing world, and is increasing in incidence. This article reviews the current modalities employed for the diagnosis of HCC, including serum markers, radiological techniques and histological evaluation, and summarises international guidelines for the diagnostic approach to HCC.

Improved characterization of liver lesions with liver-phase uptake of liver-specific microbubbles: prospective multicenter study.

Purpose: To evaluate in a prospective multicenter study whether conventional ultrasonographic (US) characterization of liver lesions can be improved by imaging during the liver-specific phase of SH U 508A uptake in the microbubble-specific agent detection imaging mode.

Materials And Methods: One hundred forty-two patients with liver lesions underwent conventional gray-scale and color Doppler US and SH U 508A-enhanced US. Two radiologists blindly read digital cine clips and assigned scores for confidence in diagnosis of benignancy or malignancy, diagnosis of specific lesion types, and relative difference in SH U 508A uptake between the lesion and the liver parenchyma (ie, subjective conspicuity score [SCS]).