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Diagnostics
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Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis
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Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2023) | Viewed by 9827

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sorin Marian Dudea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Radiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Victor Babes, Street, number 8, Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj, Romania
Interests: ultrasonography; elastography; Doppler; viscosity; breast; lymph nodes; musculoskeletal system

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In an era of the ever-increasing use of imaging for assessing and quantifying the biological properties of living tissues, ultrasonography has undergone a sudden revival and expansion in terms of its applications. Various modes of elastography, including tissue viscosity assessment, very high-frequency transducers, ultra-fast, very high sensitivity Doppler and other vascular techniques, novel applications of contrast media, artificial intelligence and fusion imaging, add up to an ever-expanding role of tissue characterization, which is of paramount importance for personalized medicine. This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of some of the latest developments and clinical applications of advanced ultrasound technologies.

Prof. Dr. Sorin Marian Dudea
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • elastography
  • viscosity
  • very high frequency transducer
  • ultrafast doppler
  • contrast enhanced ultrasound
  • artificial intelligence
  • multimodal imaging
  • fusion imaging
  • breast disease
  • thyroid disease
  • musculoskeletal system
  • genitourinary disease

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2732 KiB  
Article
Technical Acoustic Measurements Combined with Clinical Parameters for the Differential Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
by Yanan Zhao, Chen Qiu, Yiping Dong, Xuchu Wang, Jifan Chen, Jianting Yao, Yifan Jiang, Chao Zhang, Huifang Weng, Yajing Liu, Yik-Ning Wong and Pintong Huang
Diagnostics 2023, 13(9), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13091547 - 26 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1250
Abstract
Background and aim: Diagnosing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is challenging. This study intended to explore the diagnostic value of multiple technical acoustic measurements in the diagnosis of NASH, and to establish a diagnostic model combining technical acoustic measurements with clinical parameters to improve the [...] Read more.
Background and aim: Diagnosing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is challenging. This study intended to explore the diagnostic value of multiple technical acoustic measurements in the diagnosis of NASH, and to establish a diagnostic model combining technical acoustic measurements with clinical parameters to improve the diagnostic efficacy of NASH. Methods: We consecutively enrolled 75 patients with clinically suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who underwent percutaneous liver biopsy in our hospital from June 2020 to December 2021. All cases underwent multiple advanced acoustic measurements for liver such as shear wave dispersion (SWD), shear wave speed (SWS), attenuation imaging (ATI), normalized local variance (NLV), and liver–kidney intensity ratio (Ratio) examination before liver biopsies. A nomogram prediction model combining the technical acoustic measurements and clinical parameters was established and the model is proposed to improve the diagnostic performance of NASH. Results: A total of 75 cases were included in this study. The classification of pathological grade for NASH was as follows: normal liver, (n = 15, 20%), nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), (n = 44, 58.7%), and NASH, (n = 16, 21.3%). There were statistically significant differences in SWS (p = 0.002), acoustic coefficient (AC) (p = 0.018), NLV (p = 0.033), age (p = 0.013) and fasting blood glucose (Glu) (p = 0.049) between NASH and non-NASH. A nomogram model which includes SWS, AC, NLV, age and Glu was built to predict NASH, and the calibration curves showed good calibrations in both training and validation sets. The AUCs of the combined nomogram model for the training set and validation set were 0.8597 and 0.7794, respectively. Conclusion: There were statistically significant differences in SWS, AC, NLV, age and Glu between NASH and non-NASH. A nomogram model which includes SWS, AC, NLV, age and Glu was built to predict NASH. The predictive model has a higher diagnostic performance than a single factor model in the diagnosis of NASH and has good clinical application prospects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis)
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15 pages, 3696 KiB  
Article
Impact of Breathing Phase, Liver Segment, and Prandial State on Ultrasound Shear Wave Speed, Shear Wave Dispersion, and Attenuation Imaging of the Liver in Healthy Volunteers
by Catherine Paverd, Sivert Kupfer, Iara Nascimento Kirchner, Sherin Nambiar, Alexander Martin, Naiara Korta Martiartu, Thomas Frauenfelder, Marga B. Rominger and Lisa Ruby
Diagnostics 2023, 13(5), 989; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13050989 - 05 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1487
Abstract
Objectives: Measurement location and patient state can impact noninvasive liver assessment and change clinical staging in ultrasound examinations. Research into differences exists for Shear Wave Speed (SWS) and Attenuation Imaging (ATI), but not for Shear Wave Dispersion (SWD). The aim of this study [...] Read more.
Objectives: Measurement location and patient state can impact noninvasive liver assessment and change clinical staging in ultrasound examinations. Research into differences exists for Shear Wave Speed (SWS) and Attenuation Imaging (ATI), but not for Shear Wave Dispersion (SWD). The aim of this study is to assess the effect of breathing phase, liver lobe, and prandial state on SWS, SWD, and ATI ultrasound measurements. Methods: Two experienced examiners performed SWS, SWD, and ATI measurements in 20 healthy volunteers using a Canon Aplio i800 system. Measurements were taken in the recommended condition (right lobe, following expiration, fasting state), as well as (a) following inspiration, (b) in the left lobe, and (c) in a nonfasting state. Results: SWS and SWD measurements were strongly correlated (r = 0.805, p < 0.001). Mean SWS was 1.34 ± 0.13 m/s in the recommended measurement position and did not change significantly under any condition. Mean SWD was 10.81 ± 2.05 m/s/kHz in the standard condition and significantly increased to 12.18 ± 1.41 m/s/kHz in the left lobe. Individual SWD measurements in the left lobe also had the highest average coefficient of variation (19.68%). No significant differences were found for ATI. Conclusion: Breathing and prandial state did not significantly affect SWS, SWD, and ATI values. SWS and SWD measurements were strongly correlated. SWD measurements in the left lobe showed a higher individual measurement variability. Interobserver agreement was moderate to good. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis)
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14 pages, 4504 KiB  
Article
A Novel Nomogram Based on Imaging Biomarkers of Shear Wave Elastography, Angio Planewave Ultrasensitive Imaging, and Conventional Ultrasound for Preoperative Prediction of Malignancy in Patients with Breast Lesions
by Guoqiang Guo, Jiaping Feng, Chunchun Jin, Xuehao Gong, Yihao Chen, Sihan Chen, Zhanghong Wei, Huahua Xiong and Jianghao Lu
Diagnostics 2023, 13(3), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13030540 - 02 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1284
Abstract
Several studies have demonstrated the difficulties in distinguishing malignant lesions of the breast from benign lesions owing to overlapping morphological features on ultrasound. Consequently, we aimed to develop a nomogram based on shear wave elastography (SWE), Angio Planewave Ultrasensitive imaging (Angio PLUS (AP)), [...] Read more.
Several studies have demonstrated the difficulties in distinguishing malignant lesions of the breast from benign lesions owing to overlapping morphological features on ultrasound. Consequently, we aimed to develop a nomogram based on shear wave elastography (SWE), Angio Planewave Ultrasensitive imaging (Angio PLUS (AP)), and conventional ultrasound imaging biomarkers to predict malignancy in patients with breast lesions. This prospective study included 117 female patients with suspicious lesions of the breast. Features of lesions were extracted from SWE, AP, and conventional ultrasound images. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) algorithms were used to select breast cancer-related imaging biomarkers, and a nomogram was developed based on six of the 16 imaging biomarkers. This model exhibited good discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC): 0.969; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.928, 0.989) between malignant and benign breast lesions. Moreover, the nomogram also showed demonstrated good calibration and clinical usefulness. In conclusion, our nomogram can be a potentially useful tool for individually-tailored diagnosis of breast tumors in clinical practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis)
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8 pages, 731 KiB  
Article
Shear Wave Dispersion Slope Measured with Shear Wave Dispersion Imaging Is Associated with Variceal Hemorrhage in Cirrhotic Patients
by Xiaohui Sun, Li Zhang, Ling Jiang, Ligang Cui and Xiaoguang Li
Diagnostics 2022, 12(12), 2909; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12122909 - 23 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1586
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Portal hypertension (PH), as the main consequence of cirrhosis, leads to the development of gastroesophageal varices (GEVs). Variceal hemorrhage (VH) caused by the rupture of GEVs is a life-threatening emergency. Thus, the prediction of VH risk is considerably important. Our [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Portal hypertension (PH), as the main consequence of cirrhosis, leads to the development of gastroesophageal varices (GEVs). Variceal hemorrhage (VH) caused by the rupture of GEVs is a life-threatening emergency. Thus, the prediction of VH risk is considerably important. Our pilot study aimed to identify the risk factors of variceal hemorrhage (VH) in cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: Cirrhotic patients were prospectively included and divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of VH. Conventional ultrasound and shear wave dispersion (SWD) imaging were conducted to detect the portal vein diameter, spleen diameter, ascites, liver stiffness (LS) and shear wave dispersion slope (SWDS). The laboratory tests were recorded, including platelets (PLT), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL) and albumin (ALB). The risk factors of VH were screened using univariate analyses and identified using multivariate logistic regression. The ROC curves were used to assess diagnostic accuracy. Comparisons between AUCs were performed using the Delong method. Results: Sixty-five patients with 22 VHs were finally included. The SWDS, spleen diameter and ascites were identified as independent risk factors for VH. The SWDS showed good performance for diagnosing VH (AUC = 0.768, 95% CI: 0.647–0.864), and sensitively identified 95.5% (95% CI: 77.2%–99.9%) of patients with VH. Including the three risk factors in multivariate logistic regression, we obtained a formula for diagnosing VH: −20.749 + 0.804 × SWDS + 0.449 × spleen diameter + 1.803 × ascites (no ascites = 0, ascites = 1). Comparison of AUCs revealed that the formula (AUC = 0.900, 95% CI: 0.800–0.961) performed better than LS, SWDS, and spleen diameter in diagnosing VH (p < 0.001; p < 0.05; p < 0.05). Conclusions: SWDS is a sensitive parameter for assessing the risk of VH. Combining the SWDS, spleen diameter and ascites resulted in good diagnostic accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis)
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9 pages, 1978 KiB  
Article
Functional Evaluation of Major Salivary Glands Using Viscosity PLUS and 2D Shear-Wave PLUS Elastography Techniques in Healthy Subjects—A Pilot Study
by Delia Doris Muntean, Manuela Lavinia Lenghel, Diana-Raluca Petea-Balea, Anca Ileana Ciurea, Carolina Solomon and Sorin Marian Dudea
Diagnostics 2022, 12(8), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12081963 - 13 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1402
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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.PLUS) and 2D Shear-Wave Elastography PLUS (2D-SWE.PLUS) techniques. The viscosity and stiffness of PG and SMG were measured before and after gustatory stimulation with a sialagogue agent (commercially available lemon juice) using the new SuperSonic MACH 30 ultrasound system equipped with a curvilinear C6-1X transducer. PG presented a mean basal viscosity and elasticity of 2.10 ± 0.19 Pa.s and 11.32 ± 1.91 kPa, respectively, which significantly increased poststimulation to 2.39 ± 0.17 Pa.s (p < 0.001) and 12.58 ± 1.92 kPa (p < 0.001), respectively. SMG did not present statistically increased values of viscosity and elasticity following stimulation (2.31 ± 015 Pa.s vs. 2.37 ± 0.18 Pa.s, p = 0.086, and 10.40 ± 1.64 kPa vs. 10.90 ± 1.98 kPa, p = 0.074, respectively). Vi.PLUS measurements presented a good positive correlation with 2D-SWE.PLUS values for PG and SMG, before and after stimulation. Gender and BMI were not confounding factors for these two parameters. Vi.PLUS represents an innovative non-invasive imaging technique that, together with 2D-SWE.PLUS proves to be useful in functionally assessing the major salivary glands in healthy subjects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis)
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Review

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14 pages, 2481 KiB  
Review
New Technologies in the Assessment of Carotid Stenosis: Beyond the Color-Doppler Ultrasound—High Frame Rate Vector-Flow and 3D Arterial Analysis Ultrasound
by Emanuele David, Ombretta Martinelli, Patrizia Pacini, Marco Di Serafino, Pintong Huang, Vincenzo Dolcetti, Giovanni Del Gaudio, Richard G. Barr, Maurizio Renda, Giuseppe T. Lucarelli, Luca Di Marzo, Dirk A. Clevert, Carmen Solito, Chiara Di Bella and Vito Cantisani
Diagnostics 2023, 13(8), 1478; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13081478 - 19 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1813
Abstract
Atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery is the main cause of ischemic stroke, with a high incidence rate among people over 65 years. A timely and precise diagnosis can help to prevent the ischemic event and decide patient management, such as follow up, [...] Read more.
Atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery is the main cause of ischemic stroke, with a high incidence rate among people over 65 years. A timely and precise diagnosis can help to prevent the ischemic event and decide patient management, such as follow up, medical, or surgical treatment. Presently, diagnostic imaging techniques available include color-Doppler ultrasound, as a first evaluation technique, computed tomography angiography, which, however, uses ionizing radiation, magnetic resonance angiography, still not in widespread use, and cerebral angiography, which is an invasively procedure reserved for therapeutically purposes. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is carving out an important and emerging role which can significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy of an ultrasound. Modern ultrasound technologies, still not universally utilized, are opening new horizons in the arterial pathologies research field. In this paper, the technical development of various carotid artery stenosis diagnostic imaging modalities and their impact on clinical efficacy is thoroughly reviewed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis)
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