Arrival time parametric imaging of the hemodynamic balance changes between the hepatic artery and the portal vein during deep inspiration, using Sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography: A case of Budd-Chiari syndrome.

This case report concerns a 40-year-old male who had previously been treated for an esophageal varix rupture, at the age of 30 years. The medical examination at that time revealed occlusion of the inferior vena cava in the proximity of the liver, leading to the diagnosis of the patient with Budd-Chiari syndrome. The progress of the patient was therefore monitored in an outpatient clinic.

Arrival time parametric imaging using Sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography is useful for the detection of spoke-wheel patterns of focal nodular hyperplasia smaller than 3 cm.

It is considered difficult to make a definitive diagnosis of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) of <3 cm when using conventional diagnostic imaging modalities. Typical FNH imaging findings are: i) central scar formation, ii) nutrient vessels extending radially from the center and iii) the presence of Kupffer cells. In a clinical setting, identification of a spoke-wheel pattern formed by nutrient vessels extending radially is a key feature in the diagnosis of FNH.

A case of poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma with intriguing ultrasonography findings.

A 60-year-old female was referred to the Toho University Omori Medical Center due to ultrasonography findings revealing a notable hepatic mass. The 44×32 mm isoechoic mass had a high-echo band along the margin in the liver. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) with Sonazoid detected an enhancement pattern extending from the outer periphery to the inside of the mass in the vascular phase and a pattern similar to that of surrounding hepatic tissue in the post-vascular phase.

Visualization of segmental arterialization with arrival time parametric imaging using Sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography in portal vein thrombosis: A case report.

A 55-year-old male was admitted in mid-April 2011 with a fever of >39°C and pain in the lower right abdomen. A medical examination revealed sepsis originating from colonic diverticulitis. Abdominal B-mode ultrasonography (US) performed on admission detected thrombi in the superior mesenteric vein and in the right branch of the hepatic portal vein.

Hepatic parenchymal hemodynamics of cholangitis with portal trunk thrombus using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with Sonazoid: delineation of so-called central and peripheral zonal differentiation by arrival-time parametric imaging.

We carried out contrast-enhanced ultrasonography using Sonazoid for a patient who had portal thrombosis due to choledocholith and cholangitis, and the video images were analyzed by an offline procedure using arrival-time parametric imaging. Colors were changed with the time course from red to orange, yellow, green, light blue, and blue, with the time the contrast agent reached the right hepatic artery as the starting point. The central part of the liver was primarily colored blue, and the peripheral part primarily yellowish-green.

Usefulness of arrival time parametric imaging in evaluating the degree of liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis C infection.

Objective: To determine whether the degree of liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis C infection can be evaluated by arrival time parametric imaging using contrast-enhanced sonography with Sonazoid (perfluorobutane; GE Healthcare, Oslo, Norway).

Methods: In this study, 60 patients with liver disease in chronic hepatitis C infection were examined and compared with 10 healthy volunteers who served as controls. A recommended dose of the sonographic contrast agent Sonazoid was intravenously infused, and the S5 or S6 region of the liver and right kidney were observed concurrently while movies of the procedure were saved.

Diagnosis of hepatic hemangioma by parametric imaging using sonazoid-enhanced US.

Background/aims: Comparison of Parametric Imaging (PI) using Sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography (US) and microflow imaging (MFI) to determine the possibility of hepatic hemangioma diagnosis using PI.

Methodology: Twenty-two hepatic hemangioma nodules (mean±SD diameter: 31.6±19.

Drinking status of heavy drinkers detected by arrival time parametric imaging using sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography: study of two cases.

Chronic heavy consumption of alcohol is associated with increased risks of developing liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and esophageal varices. Cessation of alcohol consumption is the most important requirement in treating these diseases. However, judging whether patients have actually maintained abstinence from alcohol requires reliance on their reports, which vary substantially across individuals using the test methods currently available.

Recurrence incidence of small HCC in cirrhosis patients by ablation versus injection.

Background/aims: The incidence of local recurrence of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (15 mm or less) was compared retrospectively between a group treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using cool-tip (Radionics, USA) 10-mm electrodes and a group treated with percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI).

Methodology: There were 23 patients who were treated for a total of 25 tumors during a 3-year period at our hospital. Ten of the tumors (11.

Evaluation of local recurrence after treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography using Sonazoid: comparison with dynamic computed tomography.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) using Sonazoid for the diagnosis of the local recurrence after treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by comparing it with dynamic CT.

Methods: Seventy-one patients with 87 HCC lesions (mean +/- SD; 19.5 +/- 9.

Cool-tip 10-mm electrode useful for radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/aims: Whether a cool-tip 10mm electrode is useful for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been established. Accordingly, the present study goal was to determine this electrode is indicated for RFA of HCC.

Methodology: This study was conducted with 30 HCC patients who were treated with a cool-tip 10-mm electrode over a period of about 3 years.