Dermatologic conditions may be the subjects of potential emergency consultations, and the knowledge of their sonographic appearance can facilitate an early diagnosis and management. In this pictorial ...essay, the sonographic dermatologic anatomy, technique, and conditions that can be supported by a prompt sonographic diagnosis are reviewed. The sonographic signs that may help diagnose these entities are discussed with a practical approach.
Cavitation-Enhanced Drug Delivery and Immunotherapy is a rapidly evolving area that has been buoyed in recent years by the development of methods harnessing the activity of ultrasound-stimulated ...bubbles, known as cavitation. When properly controlled, cavitation can help overcome physical barriers to drug delivery whilst providing readily measurable information for timely quantitative feedback and treatment guidance. Microbubble-assisted therapies have demonstrated impressive advancements in clinical trials and pre-clinical areas, including applications in neurology, oncology, cardiology and beyond.
What points to consider when selecting a device for practicing dermatologic ultrasound is an excellent question. After we met the requisites published in the guidelines for practicing dermatologic ...ultrasound, it is necessary to consider the main objective of the use because it is not the same to be focused mostly on the avoidance of the puncture of important facial vessels such as the case of injectors of cosmetic fillers in comparison to the use of operators that need to deal with the diagnosis and monitoring of a wide range of dermatologic pathologies. Currently, a broad variety of ultrasound devices meets the minimum requirements for practicing these examinations in the market. Thus, small, portable, and high-end devices may present advantages and limitations that must be balanced according to the primary purposes and the budget. Moreover, the shape and footprint of the probes can make difficult or facilitate a dermatologic procedure. Other points to consider are the type of storage and the need for technical service. In summary, there are key points that we need to consider when we select a dermatologic ultrasound device in dermatology or aesthetics.
To support standardization for performing dermatologic ultrasound examinations.
An international working group, called DERMUS (Dermatologic Ultrasound), was formed, composed of physicians who have ...been working on a regular basis and publishing in peer-reviewed articles on dermatologic ultrasound. A questionnaire on 5 critical issues about performance of the examinations was prepared and distributed by e-mail. The areas of discussion included technical aspects, main areas of application, minimum number of examinations per year required for assessing competence, qualifications of the personnel in charge of the examination, and organization of courses. Final recommendations were approved on the basis of the agreement of more than 50% of the members.
The minimum frequency recommended for performing dermatologic examinations was 15 MHz. Routine use of color Doppler ultrasound and the performance of spectral curve analysis for assessing the main vascularity of lesions were suggested. Three-dimensional reconstructions were considered optional. The main dermatologic applications were benign tumors, skin cancer, vascular anomalies, cosmetic field, nail disorders, and inflammatory diseases. The minimum number of examinations per year suggested by the group for assessing competence was 300. A physician and not a sonographer was recommended to be the person in charge of performing the examination. On course organization, a minimum of 2 levels of complexity (basic and advanced) was suggested.
There is a need to standardize the performance and quality of dermatologic ultrasound examinations. The present guidelines written by an international group of specialists in the field may support this objective.
Purpose
To provide consensus, and a list of experts’ recommendations regarding the basic skills for head-to-toe ultrasonography in the intensive care setting.
Methods
The Executive Committee of the ...European Society of Intensive Care (ESICM) commissioned the project and supervised the methodology and structure of the consensus. We selected an international panel of 19 expert clinicians–researchers in intensive care unit (ICU) with expertise in critical care ultrasonography (US), plus a non-voting methodologist. The panel was divided into five subgroups (brain, lung, heart, abdomen and vascular ultrasound) which identified the domains and generated a list of questions to be addressed by the panel. A Delphi process based on an iterative approach was used to obtain the final consensus statements. Statements were classified as a strong recommendation (84% of agreement), weak recommendation (74% of agreement), and no recommendation (less than 74%), in favor or against.
Results
This consensus produced a total of 74 statements (7 for brain, 20 for lung, 20 for heart, 20 for abdomen, 7 for vascular Ultrasound). We obtained strong agreement in favor for 49 statements (66.2%), 8 weak in favor (10.8%), 3 weak against (4.1%), and no consensus in 14 cases (19.9%). In most cases when consensus was not obtained, it was felt that the skills were considered as too advanced. A research agenda and discussion on training programs were implemented from the results of the consensus.
Conclusions
This consensus provides guidance for the basic use of critical care US and paves the way for the development of training and research projects.
The aim of this article is to provide an inventory of the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in relation to percutaneous interventional procedures. The article is structured into a systematic ...literature review followed by a clinical part relating to percutaneous CEUS-guided procedures. A literature search identified 3109 records. After abstract screening, 55 articles were analyzed and supplemented with pictorial material to explain the techniques. In conclusion, the best-evidenced indications for CEUS-guided interventions are biopsy and ablation of inconspicuous or B-mode-invisible tumors, intraprocedural ablation control and follow-up, as well as percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and drainage procedures.
Purpose of review
Application of ultrasound in clinical anesthesia practice extends beyond regional anesthesia. In this review, we have discussed other point of care applications of ultrasound in ...perioperative care and anesthetic management with special emphasis on ambulatory practice.
Recent findings
Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for anesthesiologists has gained widespread interest and popularity. Recent literature has highlighted multiple perioperative POCUS applications on various organ systems and its benefits. We have analyzed the recent available data and evidence for perioperative POCUS, its benefits and limitations in perioperative medicine.
Summary
Perioperative POCUS skill is a natural extension of ultrasound guided regional anesthesia. Utilizing POCUS in the perioperative period would accelerate the level of appropriate care, safety and improve outcomes in ambulatory centers. More anesthesiologists embracing POCUS would enhance patient care in a timely fashion at the ambulatory centers. POCUS in ambulatory practice can be valuable in avoiding delay or cancellation of surgeries and improving patient satisfaction.
The recovery of morphologically accurate anatomical images from deformed ones is challenging in ultrasound (US) image acquisition, but crucial to accurate and consistent diagnosis, particularly in ...the emerging field of computer-assisted diagnosis. This article presents a novel physics-aware deformation correction approach based on a coarse-to-fine, multi-scale deep neural network (DefCor-Net). To achieve pixel-wise performance, DefCor-Net incorporates biomedical knowledge by estimating pixel-wise stiffness online using a U-shaped feature extractor. The deformation field is then computed using polynomial regression by integrating the measured force applied by the US probe. Based on real-time estimation of pixel-by-pixel tissue properties, the learning-based approach enables the potential for anatomy-aware deformation correction. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DefCor-Net, images recorded at multiple locations on forearms and upper arms of six volunteers are used to train and validate DefCor-Net. The results demonstrate that DefCor-Net can significantly improve the accuracy of deformation correction to recover the original geometry (Dice Coefficient: from 14.3±20.9 to 82.6±12.1 when the force is 6N). Code:https://github.com/KarolineZhy/DefCorNet.
•Force-induced ultrasound image deformation correction.•Dense displacement field estimation from ultrasound imaging.•Deep learning based deformation correction, pixel-wise deformation correction.•Coarse-to-fine neural network structure.•Robotic ultrasound imaging, computer-assisted diagnosis, stiffness estimation.
Following the innovations and new discoveries of the last 10 years in the field of lung ultrasound (LUS), a multidisciplinary panel of international LUS experts from six countries and from different ...fields (clinical and technical) reviewed and updated the original international consensus for point‐of‐care LUS, dated 2012. As a result, a total of 20 statements have been produced. Each statement is complemented by guidelines and future developments proposals. The statements are furthermore classified based on their nature as technical (5), clinical (11), educational (3), and safety (1) statements.
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