Assessment of the effects of direct myofascial release in the lateral gastrocnemius muscle of tennis athletes using ShearWave™ elastography.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to utilize ShearWave™ Elastography to assess tissue stiffness by measuring shear wave speed before and after applying the direct Myofascial release (MFR) technique to the lateral gastrocnemius muscle of competitive tennis athletes.

Methods: Shear wave speed values were measured in the regions of interest within the lateral gastrocnemius fascia and muscle areas from the elastographic images. Measurements were taken in three different situations: before, immediately after and 5 min after MFR protocol.

Design and evaluation of an anthropomorphic neck phantom for improved ultrasound diagnostics of thyroid gland tumors.

Purpose: Thyroid cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with ultrasound-guided biopsy being the method of choice for its early detection. The accuracy of diagnostics directly depends on the qualifications of the ultrasonographers, whose performance can be enhanced through training with phantoms. The aim of this study is to propose a reproducible methodology for designing a neck phantom for ultrasound training and research from widely available materials and to validate its applicability.

Innovative aberration correction in ultrasound diagnostics with direct phase estimation for enhanced image quality.

The paper addresses a crucial challenge in medical radiology and introduces a novel general approach, which utilises applied mathematics and information technology techniques, for aberration correction in ultrasound diagnostics. Ultrasound imaging of inhomogeneous media inherently suffers from variations in ultrasonic speed between tissue. The characteristics of aberrations are unique to each patient due to tissue morphology.

Development of an anatomical breast phantom from polyvinyl chloride plastisol with lesions of various shape, elasticity and echogenicity for teaching ultrasound examination.

Purpose: The WHO reported an increasing trend in the number of new cases of breast cancer, making it the most prevalent cancer in the world. This fact necessitates the availability of highly qualified ultrasonographers, which can be achieved by the widespread implementation of training phantoms. The goal of the present work is to develop and test an inexpensive, accessible, and reproducible technology for creating an anatomical breast phantom for practicing ultrasound diagnostic skills in grayscale and elastography imaging, as well as ultrasound-guided biopsy sampling.

Linear Relationship between the Effective Radiation Area and Thermal Images on a Thermochromatic Test Body with 1-MHz Ultrasonic Transducers.

The performance of therapeutic ultrasonic (TUS) devices has a high degree of variability because of the fragility of the equipment (its transducer in particular) and its handling. These facts raise doubts about the effectiveness and safety of treatments employing such devices. Currently there is no simple way to adequately verify the performance of these devices.

Shear Elastic Coefficient of Normal and Fibrinogen-Deficient Clotting Plasma Obtained with a Sphere-Motion-Based Acoustic-Radiation-Force Approach.

Blood coagulation is a process involving several chemical reactions governed by coagulation factors, during which the shear elastic coefficient, μ, varies as the medium transitions from liquid to gel phase. This work used ultrasound to measure μ during the clotting of human plasma samples by tracking the motion of a glass sphere located inside a cuvette filled with the plasma. A 2.

Recycled windshield glass as new material for producing ultrasonic phantoms of cortical bone-healing stages.

The quantitative ultrasound technique was used to evaluate bone-mimicking phantoms; however, these phantoms do not mimic the intermediate stages of cortical bone healing. We propose using windshield glass as an original material to produce phantoms that mimic the characteristics of three different stages of cortical bone healing. This material was processed via a route that included breaking, grinding, compacting, drying, and sintering in four temperature groups: 625 °C, 645 °C, 657 °C, and 663 °C.

Dynamic assessment of plasma clotting in samples with distinct fibrinogen concentrations using impulsive acoustic radiation force.

While some diseases reduce fibrinogen concentration, others increase the amount of this clotting factor in the blood. Some studies have shown that the fibrinogen concentration in the blood is related to the stiffness of the formed clot. Hence, the aim of this study was to employ an ultrasonic method based on impulsive acoustic radiation force (IARF) to identify the fibrinogen concentration (coagulation factor I) in a plasma sample by means of peak-displacement (PD), time of peak-displacement (TPD), and shear modulus (μ) as well as to identify the change of plasma samples during the clot formation process.

Measurement of Shear Wave Speed and Normalized Elastic Modulus of Human Skin with and without Dermal Striae Using Shear Wave Elastography.

Supersonic shear imaging is a non-invasive technique used for detecting physiologic and pathologic changes in biological tissues. In this study, supersonic shear imaging was used to measure and compare shear wave speed (c) and normalized elastic modulus (E) values of skin with and skin without dermal striae (DS) in vivo. The values were measured at angles of 0°, 45°, 90° and 315° to the skin tension lines.

Using high-resolution ultrasound imaging to characterize dermal striae in human skin.

Background And Objective: The improvement in the appearance of the skin with dermal striae (DS) is currently eval-uated by invasive methods, such as biopsy. This study evaluates whether high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) could be used to identify skin lesions in vivo caused by DS, using 2D images and measuring the thickness of the dermal layer.

Methods: High-resolution ultrasound at frequencies of 20 and 30 MHz was used in this study in ten volunteers with DS.

PVCP-based anthropomorphic breast phantoms containing structures similar to lactiferous ducts for ultrasound imaging: A comparison with human breasts.

The purpose of this work was to obtain an anthropomorphic phantom with acoustic properties similar to those of breast tissue, possessing lactiferous duct-like structures, which would be a first for this type of phantom. Breast lesions usually grow in glandular tissues or lactiferous ducts. Shape variations in these structures are detectable by using ultrasound imaging.

Assessment of the mechanical properties of the muscle-tendon unit by supersonic shear wave imaging elastography: a review.

This review aimed to describe the state of the art in muscle-tendon unit (MTU) assessment by supersonic shear wave imaging (SSI) elastography in states of muscle contraction and stretching, during aging, and in response to injury and therapeutic interventions. A consensus exists that MTU elasticity increases during passive stretching or contraction, and decreases after static stretching, electrostimulation, massage, and dry needling. There is currently no agreement regarding changes in the MTU due to aging and injury.

Polyvinyl chloride plastisol breast phantoms for ultrasound imaging.

Ultrasonic phantoms are objects that mimic some features of biological tissues, allowing the study of their interactions with ultrasound (US). In the diagnostic-imaging field, breast phantoms are an important tool for testing performance and optimizing US systems, as well as for training medical professionals. This paper describes the design and manufacture of breast lesions by using polyvinyl chloride plastisol (PVCP) as the base material.