In vitro heat insulation efficacy of 5% dextrose versus 0.9% saline during radiofrequency ablation.

Purpose: This study compared the efficacy of heat insulation between 5% dextrose and 0.9% saline in radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Accordingly, temperature variations and maximum temperatures were assessed at identical distances and heat field distributions.

Erratum: Porphyrin-grafted Lipid Microbubbles for the Enhanced Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy in Prostate Cancer through Ultrasound-controlled Accumulation: Erratum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/thno.22469.

The two-year prognosis of multinodular goiter following radiofrequency ablation: based on all nodule burdens.

Objective: Few studies used all nodule burdens to specify the prognosis of multinodular goiter (MNG) following radiofrequency ablation (RFA), so this study addresses this question for MNG after completely ablating dominant nodules.

Methods: The RFA indications for MNG included a total of 2-5 benign nodules with over 50% normal tissue on ultrasound, 1-3 well-defined benign dominant nodules on cytology, largest diameter ≥20 mm and/or with clinical complaints, and patient refusal or unable of surgery. A retrospective study of 185 MNG patients with completely ablated dominant nodules in a single-session RFA was conducted.

Relationship Between Spleen Pathologic Changes and Spleen Stiffness in Portal Hypertension Rat Model.

Objective: The aim of the study described here was to explore the influence of splenic pathology and hemodynamic parameters on spleen stiffness in portal hypertension (PH).

Methods: A Sprague‒Dawley rat model of PH (n = 34) induced by CCl was established, and 9 normal rats were used as controls. All animals underwent a routine ultrasound examination, spleen stiffness measurement (SSM), liver stiffness measurement (LSM), portal vein pressure (PVP) measurement and histopathologic assessment.

Injury Site Specific Xenon Delivered by Platelet Membrane-Mimicking Hybrid Microbubbles to Protect Against Acute Kidney Injury via Inhibition of Cellular Senescence.

Inhalation of xenon gas improves acute kidney injury (AKI). However, xenon can only be delivered through inhalation, which causes non-specific distribution and low bioavailability of xenon, thus limiting its clinical application. In this study, xenon is loaded into platelet membrane-mimicking hybrid microbubbles (Xe-Pla-MBs).

Ultrasensitive US Microvessel Imaging of Hepatic Microcirculation in the Cirrhotic Rat Liver.

Background Liver microcirculation dysfunction plays a vital role in the occurrence and development of liver diseases, and thus, there is a clinical need for in vivo, noninvasive, and quantitative evaluation of liver microcirculation. Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of ultrasensitive US microvessel imaging (UMI) in the visualization and quantification of hepatic microvessels in healthy and cirrhotic rats. Materials and Methods In vivo studies were performed to image hepatic microvasculature by means of laparotomy in Sprague-Dawley rats (five cirrhotic and five control rats).

A novel parallel overlapping mode for complete ablation of large benign thyroid nodules in a single-session radiofrequency ablation.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been widely applied in patients with benign thyroid nodules (BTNs), and complete ablation in a single-session treatment brings great benefits to patients. While how the ablation should be planned and performed to achieve complete ablation in a single-session treatment in large BTNs remains unknown.

Purpose: To determine a more suitable ablation strategy for sufficient treatment in a single-session treatment.

Biomimetic nanoparticles for effective mild temperature photothermal therapy and multimodal imaging.

Downregulation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent heat shock proteins (HSPs) can significantly reduce the tumorigenicity of cancer cells and overcome heat endurance to achieve high-performance mild temperature (≤45 °C) photothermal therapy (PTT). Herein, we designed and constructed 4T1 cancer cell membrane-coated, lonidamine (LN)-loaded and DL-menthol (DLM)-loaded hollow mesoporous Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBLM@CCM NPs). DLM with mild phase change characteristics served as a plugging agent to avoid early leakage and allow thermally controllable release of LN, which enabled selective intracellular delivery of LN to reduce the HSPs and overcome the heat endurance in PTT by inhibiting the generation of intracellular ATP.

Liver Fibrosis Assessment by Viewing Sinusoidal Capillarization: US Molecular Imaging versus Two-dimensional Shear-Wave Elastography in Rats.

Background US elastography is a first-line assessment of liver fibrosis severity; however, its application is limited by its insufficient sensitivity in early-stage fibrosis detection and its measurements are affected by inflammation. Purpose To assess the sensitivity of US molecular imaging (USMI) in early-stage liver fibrosis detection and to determine whether USMI can specifically distinguish fibrosis regardless of inflammation when compared with two-dimensional (2D) shear-wave elastography (SWE). Materials and methods USMI and 2D SWE were performed prospectively (January to June 2021) in 120 male Sprague-Dawley rats with varying degrees of liver fibrosis and acute hepatitis and control rats.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound improves the potency of fine-needle aspiration in thyroid nodules with high inadequate risk.

Background: This study aims to determine the clinical value of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of high inadequate risky thyroid nodules.

Methods: During April 2018 and April 2021, consecutive 3748 thyroid nodules underwent FNA were retrospectively analyzed. CEUS guided FNA (CEUS-FNA) was applied in 115 nodules with high inadequate risk in Lingnan Campus.

Intracolic ultrasound molecular imaging: a novel method for assessing colonic tumor necrosis factor-α expression in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: While anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) therapy has been proven effective in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), approximately 40% of patients lose the response. Transmembrane TNF-α (mTNF-α) expression in the intestinal mucosa is correlated with therapeutic efficacy, and quantification of mTNF-α expression is significant for predicting response. However, conventional intravenous application of microbubbles is unable to assess mTNF-α expression in intestinal mucosa.

Microbubble Functionalization with Platelet Membrane Enables Targeting and Early Detection of Sepsis-Induced Acute Kidney Injury.

The morbidity and mortality of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (SAKI) remain high. Early detection using molecular ultrasound imaging may reduce mortality and improve the prognosis. Inspired by the intrinsic relationship between platelets and SAKI, platelet membrane-coated hybrid microbubbles (Pla-MBs) are designed for early recognition of SAKI.

Acute transient swelling of the thyroid following fine-needle aspiration: A case series.

Acute transient swelling (ATS) of the thyroid is a rare complication following fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules. We present 31 cases with 35 nodules encountered at our institute and reported in the literature, to provide further information. The incidence rate in our institute was 0.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound of intrahepatic portal vein gas: Case report and review of literature.

Portal vein gas is a rare imaging finding and a concomitant sign of abdominal disease. Here, we report a 64-year-old man with an emphasis on contrast-enhanced ultrasound for describing the findings for portal vein gas and evaluating liver blood perfusion. Ultrasonography is a favorable imaging modality for the rapid bedside evaluation and monitoring of portal vein gas in the emergency room.

Molecular ultrasound imaging of neutrophil membrane-derived biomimetic microbubbles for quantitative evaluation of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Early diagnosis of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI), the major cause of early allograft dysfunction or primary non-function, is critical in orthotopic liver transplantation. However, liver biopsy is still the primary method for HIRI evaluation in clinical practice despite its numerous complications and shortcomings such as hemorrhage and inaccuracy. Herein, we aimed to develop a non-invasive, highly accurate, and specific method for detecting HIRI.

VEGFR2-targeted ultrasound molecular imaging of angiogenesis to evaluate liver allograft fibrosis.

Liver allograft fibrosis (LAF) is a common challenge threatening patient survival after liver transplantation, making a potent imaging technique vital for clinical management. To date, ultrasound (US) elastography has been regarded as one of the most promising techniques for LAF monitoring. However, it is susceptible to inflammation and also insensitive to early-stage pathological changes, which affects its diagnostic accuracy of LAF.

Super-resolution ultrasound localization microscopy based on a high frame-rate clinical ultrasound scanner: an in-human feasibility study.

Non-invasive detection of microvascular alterations in deep tissuesprovides critical information for clinical diagnosis and evaluation of a broad-spectrum of pathologies. Recently, the emergence of super-resolution ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) offers new possibilities for clinical imaging of microvasculature at capillary level. Currently, the clinical utility of ULM on clinical ultrasound scanners is hindered by the technical limitations, such as long data acquisition time, high microbubble (MB) concentration, and compromised tracking performance associated with low imaging frame-rate.

Intravital NIR-II three-dimensional photoacoustic imaging of biomineralized copper sulfide nanoprobes.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging with functional nanoprobes in the second near-infrared region (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) has aroused much interest due to its deep tissue penetration and high maximum laser permissible exposure. However, most NIR-II PA imaging is performed using the two-dimensional (2D) imaging modality, which impedes the comprehension of the in vivo biodistribution, angiography and molecular-targeted performance of NIR-II nanoprobes (NPs). Herein, we report the systematic monitoring of biomineralized copper sulfide (CuS) NPs, typical NIR-II NPs, in mouse models by employing NIR-II three-dimensional (3D) PA imaging.

Simple structural indocyanine green-loaded microbubbles for dual-modality imaging and multi-synergistic photothermal therapy in prostate cancer.

As problems with the overuse of radical prostate cancer (PCa) treatment are increasingly exposed, focal therapy represents the direction of low- or intermediate-risk PCa management in the future. However, inaccurate diagnosis and low controllability of focal therapy hinder its clinical translation. In this study, we develop simple structural cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic (cRGD) peptide-modified and indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded microbubbles (cRGD-ICG-MBs) for ultrasound-photoacoustic imaging and multi-synergistic photothermal therapy (PTT) to address the above problems.

Targeted imaging of orthotopic prostate cancer by using clinical transformable photoacoustic molecular probe.

Background: To obtain high-yield histological samples by targeted prostate cancer (PCa) biopsy is the current trend compared with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided systematic histological biopsy, which is regarded as the gold standard for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. In this paper, we present a targeted PCa imaging strategy using a real-time molecular photoacoustic imaging system integrated with a handheld US probe (PAI/US) and synthesized an integrin αβ targeted probe based on ICG (cRGD-ICG).

Methods: To prepare cRGD-ICG, ICG-NHS was linked to cRGD through carboxyl-co-reaction.

Precise treatment of acute antibody-mediated cardiac allograft rejection in rats using C4d-targeted microbubbles loaded with nitric oxide.

Background: Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) constitutes an important cause of cardiac allograft loss; however, all current therapeutic strategies represent systemic applications with unsatisfactory efficacy. Previously, we successfully non-invasively detected C4d, a specific marker for AMR diagnosis, in allografts using C4d-targeted microbubbles (MB). In this study, we extended this approach by incorporating nitric oxide (NO), as high NO levels manifest immunosuppressive and anti-thrombotic effects.

Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy for monitoring vascular normalization during anti-angiogenic therapy.

Monitoring the changes in tumor vascularity is important for anti-angiogenic therapy assessment with therapeutic implications. However, monitoring vascularity is quite challenging due to the lack of appropriate imaging techniques. Here, we describe a non-invasive imaging technique using optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) to track vascular changes in prostate cancer treated with an anti-angiogenic agent, DC101, on a mouse ear xenograft model.

Investigating the Accuracy of Ultrasound-Ultrasound Fusion Imaging for Evaluating the Ablation Effect via Special Phantom-Simulated Liver Tumors.

The goal of this study was to investigate the accuracy of ultrasound-ultrasound (US-US) fusion imaging for evaluating the ablation effect via phantom-simulated liver tumors. Twenty special phantom models were established, ablated and divided into a complete ablation group (n = 10) and an incomplete ablation group (n = 10). US-US fusion imaging was performed to evaluate the ablation effect.

Paclitaxel-loaded nanobubble targeted to pro-gastrin-releasing peptide inhibits the growth of small cell lung cancer.

Objective: The aim of this work was to study the effects of paclitaxel-loaded nanobubbles targeting pro-gastrin-releasing peptide, designated as paclitaxel targeting nanobubbles, on small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Methods: Paclitaxel targeting nanobubbles were prepared by Thin-film hydration method. Subsequently, the prepared nanomaterials were tested for their in vitro effects on SCLC H446 cells proliferation, apoptosis and motility using the CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry and cell scratch test.