[Application Research of Vector Flow Technique on Convex Array Ultrasonic Probe of Abdomen].

Vector flow imaging (VFI) is an innovative ultrasound flow measurement technology. Compared with the traditional color Doppler and spectral Doppler, VFI has the advantages of independence of angle correction and direct acquisition of real-time amplitude and direction of flow. Transverse oscillation (TO) method is one of the effective methods for vector flow imaging.

[Calculation and Comparison of the Resistance Index Based on Vector Velocities and Correction Method Studies].

Resistance Index (RI) is one of the indicators for ultrasound evaluation of hemodynamic changes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reliability of V Flow, which is a new ultrasound examination, when calculating this index. Data were collected from six positions of the bilateral common carotid artery (CCA) at the beginning, middle, and end of 10 healthy volunteers.

Validation of photoacoustic/ultrasound dual imaging in evaluating blood oxygen saturation.

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) was performed to evaluate oxygen saturation (O) of blood-mimicking phantoms, femoral arteries in beagles, and radial arteries in humans at various O plateaus. The accuracy (root mean square error, RMSE) of PAI O compared with reference O was calculated. In blood-mimicking phantoms, PAI achieved an accuracy of 1.

Synovial Oxygenation at Photoacoustic Imaging to Assess Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity.

Background Synovial hypoxia is a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Photoacoustic (PA) imaging, based on the use of laser-generated US, can detect the oxygenation status of tissue in individuals with RA. However, large studies are lacking, with few investigating the correlation between oxygenation status and disease activity.

[Research Progress on Vector Flow Imaging of Cardiac Ultrasound].

Echocardiogram is vital for the diagnosis of cardiac disease. The heart has complex hemodynamics requiring an advanced ultrasound imaging mode. Cardiac ultrasound vector flow imaging is capable of measuring the actual magnitude and direction of the blood flow velocity, obtaining the quantitative parameters of hemodynamics, and then providing more information for clinical research and diagnosis.

Exploring the diagnostic value of photoacoustic imaging for breast cancer: the identification of regional photoacoustic signal differences of breast tumors.

We examined 14 benign and 26 malignant breast nodules by a handheld dual-modal PA/US imaging system and analyzed the data using the quantitative and semi-quantitative method. The and PA scores of different regions of the benign and malignant nodules were compared, and the diagnostic performances of two diagnostic methods based on PA parameters were evaluated. For both quantitative and semi-quantitative results, significant differences in the distributions of PA signals in different regions of benign and malignant breast lesions were identified.

Functional photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging for the assessment of breast intraductal lesions: preliminary clinical findings.

This study aimed to identify features of breast intraductal lesions in photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) imaging and compare PA/US with color Doppler flow/ultrasound (CDFI/US) in the evaluation of breast intraductal lesions. In the nine patients with 10 breast intraductal lesions and 8 patients with 8 benign lesions, total vessel scores evaluated from PA/US are significantly greater than those from CDFI/US (p=0.005).

Ultra-microangiography in evaluating the disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis and enhancing the efficacy of ultrasonography: A preliminary study.

Objective: Ultra-microangiography (UMA) is a novel Doppler technique that has high sensitivity for low-velocity blood flows. In this study, a distinctive imaging feature, penetrating blood vessels on the surface of eroded bones within the inflamed joints, was observed on UMA. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of UMA in assessing disease activity and identify the clinical value of the UMA feature for evaluating rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Multimodal photoacoustic/ultrasonic imaging system: a promising imaging method for the evaluation of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the clinical value of multimodal photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) articular imaging scores, a novel imaging method which can reflect the micro-vessels and oxygenation level of inflamed joints of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Seven small joints were examined by the PA/US imaging system. A 0-3 scoring system was used to semi-quantify the PA and power-Doppler (PD) signals, and the sums of PA and PD scores (PA-sum and PD-sum scores) of the seven joints were calculated.

Multimodal VEGF-Targeted Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging of Rats with Inflammatory Arthritis: Using Dye-VEGF-Antibody-Loaded Microbubbles.

Owing to the heavy health burdens from rheumatoid arthritis, a sensitive and objective imaging method is needed for early diagnosis and accurate evaluation of the disease. We aimed to fabricate vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted microbubbles (MBs) to evaluate the expression levels of VEGF within the inflammatory lesions of rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) using a multimodal photoacoustic (PA)/ultrasound (US) imaging system. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-biotin double-labeled vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 antibodies and Cy5.

Quantitative analysis of breast tumours aided by three-dimensional photoacoustic/ultrasound functional imaging.

In this pilot study, we explored a quantitative method to analyse characteristics of breast tumours using 3D volumetric data obtained from a three-dimensional (3D) photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) functional imaging system. Imaging results from 24 Asian patients with maximum tumour diameters less than 2 cm, including 8 benign tumours, 16 T1 stage invasive breast cancers (IBCs), and 22 normal breasts, were analysed. We found that the volumetric mean oxygenation saturation (SO) in tumour regions of T1 stage IBCs was 7.

3-D Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Fusion Imaging: A New Technique to Evaluate the Ablative Margin of Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

To investigate the feasibility of assessing the ablative margin (AM) of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with 3-D contrast-enhanced ultrasound fusion imaging (3-DCEUS-FI), pre- and post-RFA 3-DCEUS images of 84 patients with HCC were fused for two radiologists to independently assess the AMs. The success rate, duration and influencing factors for registration; inter-observer agreement for AM classification; and local tumor progression (LTP) rate were evaluated. The success rate of the automatic registration (AR), which was completed within 4-12 s, was 57.

[Quantitative Ultrasound Measurements of Blood Flow Velocity and Turbulence].

The paper described the hemodynamics of blood flow based on fluid mechanics and its corresponding formulas, and revealed the limitation of blood flow velocity measurement for non-laminar flow when using the conventional pulse wave Doppler. The paper demonstrated the calculation of turbulence for blood flow based on velocity directions and quantified the turbulence according to the presented formulas. Two methods were introduced and the simulated results were analyzed.

Vector flow imaging techniques: An innovative ultrasonographic technique for the study of blood flow.

Doppler ultrasonography is routinely used to identify abnormal blood flow. Nevertheless, conventional Doppler can be used to determine only the axial component of blood flow velocity and is angle dependent. A new method of multidimensional angle-independent estimation of flow velocity, called Vector Flow Imaging (VFI), has been proposed.

Photoacoustic/ultrasound dual imaging of human thyroid cancers: an initial clinical study.

We reported an initial clinical study of human thyroid by a photoacoustic/ultrasound handheld probe. Our dual-modality system is based on a high-end clinical ultrasound machine. Both healthy and cancerous thyroids were imaged non-invasively, and we compared the photoacoustic imaging with color Doppler ultrasound.

Parasites and asthma.

Nowadays, many studies have found low morbidity of asthma in epidemic areas of parasitic diseases, as shown by the hygiene hypothesis. It is obvious that some parasite infections can prevent asthma and studies have been carried out to clarify the mechanism of the preventive effect and search for the future asthmatic therapies. Previous findings have indicated that this mechanism may be related to the immune response switching from Th1 to Th2 and important cells induced by parasites, including the regulatory T cells, regulatory B cells, dendrite cells, and alternatively activated macrophages.

Study on the tolerance and adaptation of rats to Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the most common infectious agent causing eosinophilic meningitis. As an important food-borne parasitic disease, angiostrongyliasis cantonensis is an emerging infectious disease which brings severe harm to central nerve system of human.