The ultrasonographic diagnosis of lymph node varicose veins in the groin - an overlooked missing link in chronic venous disease?

Aim: Chronic venous disease is a common pathology characterized by valvular incompetence and venous hypertension. The venous network of the lymph nodes at the Scarpa triangle connects the superficial and the deep venous systems. This study aimed to describe infrainguinal intranodal venous dilatations and to evaluate the connection with peripheral venous disease.

The Role of an MRI-Based Radiomic Signature in Predicting Malignancy of Parotid Gland Tumors.

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of MRI radiomic features to differentiate between benign parotid gland tumors (BPGT) and malignant parotid gland tumors (MPGT). This retrospective study included 93 patients who underwent MRI examinations of the head and neck region (78 patients presenting unique PGT, while 15 patients presented double PGT). A total of 108 PGT with histological confirmation were eligible for the radiomic analysis and were assigned to a training group ( = 83; 58 BPGT; 25 MPGT) and a testing group ( = 25; 16 BPGT; 9 MPGT).

Whole-Tumor ADC Texture Analysis Is Able to Predict Breast Cancer Receptor Status.

There are different breast cancer molecular subtypes with differences in incidence, treatment response and outcome. They are roughly divided into estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER and PR) negative and positive cancers. In this retrospective study, we included 185 patients augmented with 25 SMOTE patients and divided them into two groups: the training group consisted of 150 patients and the validation cohort consisted of 60 patients.

Radiomic Features Associated with Lymphoma Development in the Parotid Glands of Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) represents a severe complication and the main cause of morbidity in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). This study aimed to assess the role of textural analysis (TA) in revealing lymphoma-associated imaging parameters in the parotid gland (PG) parenchyma of patients with pSS. This retrospective study included a total of 36 patients (54.

Predicting the Early Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy with Breast MR Morphological, Functional and Relaxometry Features-A Pilot Study.

Aim: To evaluate the role of MR relaxometry and derived proton density analysis in the prediction of early treatment response after two cycles of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), in patients with breast cancer. Methods: This was a prospective study that included 59 patients with breast cancer, who underwent breast MRI prior (MRI1) and after two cycles of NAT (MRI2). The MRI1 included a sequential acquisition with five different TE’s (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ms) and a TR of 5000 ms.

Viscosity Plane-Wave UltraSound (Vi PLUS) in the Evaluation of Thyroid Gland in Healthy Volunteers-A Preliminary Study.

Viscosity and elasticity represent biomechanical properties of soft tissues that suffer changes during the pathophysiological alterations of the tissue in various conditions. This study aimed to determine average viscosity values for the thyroid gland and to evaluate the potential influences of age, gender and body mass index (BMI), using a recent technique Viscosity Plane-wave UltraSound (Vi PLUS). A total of 85 healthy Caucasian volunteers (56 women and 29 men, median age of 29 years, range 17−81 years) were included in this prospective monocentric study conducted between January 2022 and March 2022.

Shear-Wave Elastography and Viscosity PLUS for the Assessment of Peripheric Muscles in Healthy Subjects: A Pre- and Post-Contraction Study.

Viscosity is a novel parameter, recently introduced in the use of elastographic techniques, correlating to shear-wave dispersion. The purpose of this study was to provide normal reference viscosity values for the peripheral muscles in healthy volunteers. This prospective study included 38 subjects who underwent US examinations between November 2021 and January 2022.

Radiomic Signatures Derived from Hybrid Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Images (CEUS) for the Assessment of Histological Characteristics of Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiomic features extracted from standardized hybrid contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) data for the assessment of hormone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, tumor grade and Ki-67 in patients with primary breast cancer.

Methods: This prospective study included 72 patients with biopsy-proven breast cancer who underwent CEUS examinations between October 2020 and September 2021.

Results: A radiomic analysis found the WavEnHH_s_4 parameter as an independent predictor associated with the HER2+ status with 76.

Functional Evaluation of Major Salivary Glands Using Viscosity PLUS and 2D Shear-Wave PLUS Elastography Techniques in Healthy Subjects-A Pilot Study.

Biological soft tissues are characterized by viscoelastic properties. The propagation of shear waves within tissues is influenced by both elasticity, which is linked to the shear wave speed, and viscosity, which is linked to the shear wave dispersion. This study aimed to functionally assess the parotid glands (PG) and submandibular glands (SMG) in a group of 40 healthy subjects using the novel Viscosity PLUS (Vi.

Elastography in the Urological Practice: Urinary and Male Genital Tract, Prostate Excluded-Review.

The aim of this article is to review the utility of elastography in the day-to-day clinical practice of the urologist. An electronic database search was performed on PubMed and Cochrane Library with a date range between January 2000 and December 2021. The search yielded 94 articles that passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Comparison of Linear and Convex-Array Transducers in Assessing the Enhancement Characteristics of Suspicious Breast Lesions at Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS).

The purpose of this study was to determine the observer agreement in assessing the enhancement pattern of suspicious breast lesions with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using high and low frequency transducers. Methods: This prospective study included 70 patients with suspicious breast lesions detected at mammography and/or ultrasound and classified according to the American College of Radiology (ACR) Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) in 4A, 4B, 4C, or 5, who underwent CEUS examinations between October 2020 and August 2021. Results: Participants’ ages ranged from 28 to 83 years (48.

Associating Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) and Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) with Full-Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) in Clinical Practice in Cases of Women with Dense Breast Tissue.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the value of full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) in the diagnosis of breast cancer compared to FFDM associated with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). Methods: This retrospective study included 50 female patients with a denser framework of connective tissue fibers, characteristic of young women who underwent FFDM, DBT, handheld ultrasound (HHUS), and ABUS between January 2017 and October 2018. The sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of FFDM+ABUS were 81.

Magnetic Resonance Assessment of Ejection Fraction Versus Echocardiography for Cardioverter-Defibrillator Implantation Eligibility.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential impact of performing two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) compared to cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) eligibility.

Methods: A prospective cohort of 166 consecutive patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) was designed to compare transthoracic 2DE and CMR imaging.

Results: Echocardiography measurements have important differences and large limits of agreement compared to CMR, especially when assessing ventricle volumes, and smaller but relevant differences when assessing LVEF.

Pros and Cons for Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS): A Narrative Review.

Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is an ultrasound technique that tends to be increasingly used as a supplementary technique in the evaluation of patients with dense glandular breasts. Patients with dense breasts have an increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to patients with fatty breasts. Furthermore, for this group of patients, mammography has a low sensitivity in detecting breast cancers, especially if it is not associated with architectural distortion or calcifications.

Differentiating Breast Tumors from Background Parenchymal Enhancement at Contrast-Enhanced Mammography: The Role of Radiomics-A Pilot Reader Study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the radiomic analysis of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) in discriminating between breast cancers and background parenchymal enhancement (BPE).

Methods: This retrospective study included 38 patients that underwent CESM examinations for clinical purposes between January 2019-December 2020. A total of 57 malignant breast lesions and 23 CESM examinations with 31 regions of BPE were assessed through radiomic analysis using MaZda software.

Inter- and intraobserver reproducibility of Strain and 2D Shear Wave Elastography - a phantom study.

Aims: To analyse the intra- and interobserver variability of two elastographic methods of quantification available on the same machine, the technical factors that may influence variability as well as the intra- and interobserver variability for the same indices between two different ultrasound machines in an in vitro experimental setting.

Material And Methods: Three different types of silicone experimental devices (ED) were conceived for the purpose of this study. Two observers performed repeated measurements on two ultrasound machines.

Myocardial Fibrosis as a Predictor of Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Non-ischemic Cardiomyopathy.

Background/aim: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between myocardial fibrosis characteristics (percentage, localization, heterogeneity), evaluated by a non-invasive method such as cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), with the extrasystolic ventricular arrhythmia in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Patients And Methods: The study prospectively included 173 consecutive patients who underwent electrocardiogram Holter monitoring, transthoracic echocardiography and CMR with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE).

Results: In univariate analysis, both the presence (OR=1.

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis and Treatment Modulation of Breast Cancer.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in breast cancer in terms of diagnosis, staging and follow-up of the post-treatment response. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is successfully used to diagnose multiple pathologies and has also clinical relevance in breast cancer. CEUS has high accuracy in differentiating benign from malignant lesions by analyzing the enhancement characteristics and calculating the time-intensity curve's quantitative parameters.

Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of the femoral and sciatic nerves. A study of healthy volunteers.

Background And Aims: The study describes the femoral (FN) and sciatic nerves (SN), explored using ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aims of the study are: to establish US/MRI correlations and define reference values: for the anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) diameters and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the two nerves respectively, in well-defined anatomical measuring sites; to analyze the intraobserver variation; to define the value with least variability; to determine differences between the right-left and male-female reference values.

Methods: A prospective study was carried out on 24 healthy volunteers (11 men and 13 women).

Elastography of the uterine cervix in gynecology: normal appearance, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer. A systematic review.

Aims: To revise the current literature about the usefulness of elastography in cervical cancer (CC) and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), from methods and technical limitations, to diagnosis, staging and the ability of predicting the response to oncologic treatment.

Methods: An electronic database search was performed (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science) with the data range from January 2000 until May 2020. All studies, fully-available in English, assessing elastography of the uterine cervix in CC and CIN were selected.

Usefulness of real time elastography strain ratio in the assessment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer using a reference material.

Aims: To assess the usefulness of real time elastography (RTE) strain ratio (SR) in diagnosing cervical cancer (CC) and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), using a synthetic experimental device (ED) as reference material.

Material And Methods: Seventy-nine participants were enrolled, divided in three groups: Group 1 - benign cervix (n=39); Group 2 - CIN (n=32); Group 3 - CC (n=8). Transvaginal RTE was performed, with SR determination, as the ratio between the ED and the cervical tissue.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance: contribution to the exploration of cardiomyopathies.

Background And Aims: Magnetic resonance imaging is a non-invasive and non-irradiating imaging method, complementary to cardiac ultrasound in the assessment of cardiovascular disease and implicitly of cardiomyopathies. Although it is not a first intention imaging method, it is superior in the assessment of cardiac volumes, left ventricular ejection fraction, in the analysis of cardiac wall dyskinesia and myocardial tissue characteristics with and without using a contrast agent. The purpose of this paper is to review the current knowledge regarding cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and its applications in cardiomyopathy analysis.