Flexible imaging color enhancement improves visibility of transnasal endoscopic images in diagnosing esophageal varices: a multicenter prospective blinded study.

Objective: To clarify the usefulness of transnasal esophagogastroduodenoscope (N-EGD) with all flexible imaging color enhancement (FICE) patterns (0-9) for the diagnosis of esophageal varices (EV).

Methods: A total of 50 patients with EV were examined during the same period by N-EGD without sedation and by peroral endoscopy (O-EGD) with sedation. The visibility of treatment scars, microvessels, recurrent EV and red color sign (RCS) were measured.

Effect of Gd-EOB-DTPA on T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted images for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Materials And Methods: The phantom signal intensity was measured. We also evaluated 72 patients including 30 patients with HCC.

Analysis of intrahepatic vascular morphological changes of chronic liver disease for assessment of liver fibrosis stages by micro-flow imaging with contrast-enhanced ultrasound: preliminary experience.

Objective: To assess morphological vascular changes due to an increase in liver fibrosis by using micro-flow imaging (MFI) of contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Methods: MFI was performed in 47 patients who underwent liver biopsy, and in 10 normal cases. For 27/57 cases, we performed MFI twice in order to assess the reproducibility of the examination, thus yielding a total of 84 examinations.

Analysis of morphological vascular changes of hepatocellular carcinoma by microflow imaging using contrast-enhanced sonography.

Aim: To determine whether the findings of microflow imaging (MFI), composed of a flash replenishment and a maximum intensity holding sequence, using contrast-enhanced sonography, correlate with the degree of histological differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: This study was approved by the institutional review board; patients gave informed consent. The samples comprised of 61 nodules histologically diagnosed as HCC: 20 well-differentiated, 26 moderately-differentiated, and 15 poorly-differentiated HCC.

[A case of splenic inflammatory pseudotumor].

A 74-year-old woman underwent abdominal echography at a local clinic and a splenic mass was found. She was hospitalized for detailed examinations and treatment. Splenectomy was performed to make a definite diagnosis and for treatment because a definitive diagnosis could not be made, despite various examinations.

Parametric imaging of contrast ultrasound for the evaluation of neovascularization in liver tumors.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of parametric imaging for the diagnosis of neovascularization in liver tumors.

Methods: The subjects were 17 rabbits (five with normal liver and 12 with VX2 tumor implanted in the liver). The contrast agents used were SonoVue (Bracco, Milan, Italy).

Quantification of hepatic parenchymal blood flow by contrast ultrasonography with flash-replenishment imaging.

Flash-replenishment (FR) utilizes destruction of microbubbles in the scan volume by high-power ultrasound and enables to observe reperfusion at a low acoustic power. In this paper, we introduced theoretic equation between probability density function (PDF) of the transit time in the scan volume and time intensity curve (TIC) measured by FR method. From the equations, it was explained that the mean transit time (MTT) through the scan volume was calculated from the plateau level and tangent of the initial slope.