Retrospective analysis of eFAST ultrasounds performed on trauma activations at an academic level-1 trauma center

BACKGROUND:Point-of-care ultrasound(POCUS)has become increasingly integrated into the practice of emergency medicine.A common application is the extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma(eFAST)exam.The American College of Emergency Physicians has guidelines regarding the scope of ultrasound in the emergency department and the appropriate documentation.The objective of this study was to conduct a review of performed,documented and billed eFAST ultrasounds on trauma activation patients.METHODS:This was a retrospective review of all trauma activation patients during a 10-month period at an academic level-one trauma center.A list comparing all trauma activations was crossreferenced with a list of all billed eFAST scans.Medical records were reviewed to determine whether an eFAST was indicated,performed,and appropriately documented.RESULTS:We found that 1,507 of 1,597 trauma patients had indications for eFAST,but 396(27%)of these patients did not have a billed eFAST.Of these 396 patients,87(22%)had documentation in the provider note that an eFAST was performed but there was no separate procedure note.The remaining 309(78%)did not have any documentation of the eFAST in the patient’s chart although an eFAST was recorded and reviewed during ultrasound quality assurance.CONCLUSION:A significant proportion of trauma patients had eFAST exams performed but were not documented or billed.Lack of documentation was multifactorial.Emergency ultrasound programs require appropriate reimbursement to support training,credentialing,equipment,quality assurance,and device maintenance.Our study demonstrates a significant absence of adequate documentation leading to potential revenue loss for an emergency ultrasound program.

Novel approach of ultrasound-guided lateral recess block for a patient with lateral recess stenosis: A case report

BACKGROUND Ultrasound guide technology,which can provide real-time visualization of the needle tip and tissues and avoid many adverse events,is widely used in mini-mally invasive therapy.However,the studies on ultrasound-guided Lateral recess block(LRB)are limited,this is probably because there is no recognized standard method for ultrasound scanning.This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided LRB in patients with lateral recess stenosis(LRS).CASE SUMMARY A 65-year-old patient complained of low back pain accompanied occasionally by pain and numbness in the left lower limb.Physical examination showed ten-derness on the spinous process and paraspinal muscles from L1 to S1,extensor hallucis longus and tibialis anterior weakness(muscle strength:4-),and a positive straight leg raising test in the left lower limb(60°).Magnetic resonance imaging showed L4–L5 disc degeneration with left LRS and nerve root entrapment.Subsequently,the patient was diagnosed with LRS.This patient was treated with a novel ultrasound-guided LRB approach.The patient’s symptoms significantly improved without any complications at 1 wk postoperatively and at the 3-month follow-up.CONCLUSION This is the first report on the LRS treatment with ultrasound-guided LRB from the contralateral spinous process along the inner side of the articular process by out-plane technique.Further studies are expected to investigate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided LRB for patients with LRS.

Is endoscopic ultrasound a promising technique in the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases?

Percutaneous ultrasound has been a longstanding method in the diagnostics and interventional procedures of liver diseases.In some countries,its use is restricted to radiologists,limiting access for other clinicians,such as gastroenterologists.Endoscopic ultrasound,as a novel technique,plays a crucial role in diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases.However,its use is sometimes recommended for conditions where no clear advantage over percutaneous ultrasound exists,leaving the impression that clinicians sometimes resort to an endoscopic approach due to the unavailability of percutaneous options.

Mechanism study of Cu(Ⅱ) adsorption from acidic wastewater by ultrasonic-modified municipal solid waste incineration fly ash

High concentrations of copper ions(Cu(Ⅱ)) in water will pose health risks to humans and the ecological environment. Therefore, this study aims to utilize ultrasonic-cured modified municipal solid waste incineration(MSWI) fly ash for Cu(Ⅱ) adsorption to achieve the purpose of “treating waste by waste.” The effects of p H, adsorption time, initial concentration, and temperature on the modified MSWI fly ash’s adsorption efficiency were systematically studied in this article. The adsorption performance of the modified MSWI fly ash can be enhanced by the ultrasonic modification. At pH = 2, 3 and 4, the adsorption capacity of the modified MSWI fly ash for Cu(Ⅱ) increased by 2.7, 1.9 and 1.2 times, respectively. Furthermore, it was suggested that the adsorption process of the modified MSWI fly ash can be better simulated by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, with a maximum adsorption capacity calculated by the Langmuir model of 24.196 mg.g-1. Additionally, the adsorption process is spontaneous,endothermic, and chemisorption-dominated from the thermodynamic studies(ΔH and ΔS > 0, ΔG < 0).Finally, the enhanced adsorption performance of the modified MSWI fly ash for Cu(Ⅱ) may be attributed to electrostatic interaction and chelation effects.

Dynamic modeling of cavitation bubble clusters:Effects of evaporation,condensation,and bubble-bubble interaction

We present a dynamic model of cavitation bubbles in a cluster,in which the effects of evaporation,condensation,and bubble-bubble interactions are taken into consideration.Under different ultrasound conditions,we examine how the dynamics of cavitation bubbles are affected by several factors,such as the locations of the bubbles,the ambient radius,and the number of bubbles.Herein the variations of bubble radius,energy,temperature,pressure,and the quantity of vapor molecules are analyzed.Our findings reveal that bubble-bubble interactions can restrict the expansion of bubbles,reduce the exchange of energy among vapor molecules,and diminish the maximum internal temperature and pressure when bursting.The ambient radius of bubbles can influence the intensities of their oscillations,with clusters comprised of smaller bubbles creating optimal conditions for generating high-temperature and high-pressure regions.Moreover,an increase in the number of bubbles can further inhibit cavitation activities.The frequency,pressure and waveform of the driving wave can also exert a significant influence on cavitation activities,with rectangular waves enhancing and triangular waves weakening the cavitation of bubbles in the cluster.These results provide a theoretical basis for understanding the dynamics of cavitation bubbles in a bubble cluster,and the factors that affect their behaviors.

Endohepatology:Arrival at the frontier of interventional endosonography

Endohepatology describes the emerging field where diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)are used for the diagnosis and management of liver disease and its sequelae.In this editorial we comment on the article by Gadour et al.The spectrum of EUS-guided procedures includes liver parenchymal and lesional biopsy,abscess drainage,treatment of focal liver lesions,diagnosis of portal hypertension and management of gastric varices.The data suggest that the application of EUS to hepatology is technically feasible and safe,heralding the arrival at a new frontier for EUS.More data,specifically randomised trials comparing EUS to interventional radiology techniques,and continued partnership between endoscopy and hepatology are required to see this field establish itself outside expert tertiary centres.

Suppression of low-frequency ultrasound broadband vibration using star-shaped single-phase metamaterials

In order to suppress the low-frequency ultrasound vibration in the broadband range of 20 k Hz—100 k Hz,this paper proposes and discusses an acoustic metamaterial with low-frequency ultrasound vibration attenuation properties,which is configured by hybrid arc and sharp-angle convergent star-shaped lattices.The effect of the dispersion relation and the bandgap characteristic for the scatterers in star-shaped are simulated and analyzed.The target bandgap width is extended by optimizing the geometry parameters of arc and sharp-angle convergent lattices.The proposed metamaterial configured by optimized hybrid lattices exhibits remarkable broad bandgap characteristics by bandgap complementarity,and the simulation results verify a 99%vibration attenuation amplitude can be obtained in the frequency of20 k Hz—100 k Hz.After the fabrication of the proposed hybrid configurational star-shaped metamaterial by 3D printing technique,the transmission loss experiments are performed,and the experimental results indicate that the fabricated metamaterial has the characteristics of broadband vibration attenuation and an amplitude greater than 85%attenuation for the target frequency.These results demonstrate that the hybrid configurational star-shaped metamaterials can effectively widen the bandgap and realize high efficiency attenuation,which has capability for the vibration attenuation in the application of highprecise equipment.

Quick and easy assessment of sarcopenia in cirrhosis: Can ultrasound be the solution?

Cirrhosis is frequently associated with sarcopenia,with reported rates of over 80%in patients with decompensated alcohol-related liver disease.Sarcopenia nega-tively impacts the prognosis of cirrhotic patients and affects the response to treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).For these reasons,identifying an easy-to-perform method to assess sarcopenia in is a key element in the optimization of care in this patient population.Assessment of muscle mass by computed tomography is considered the standard of care for the diagnosis of sarcopenia,but exposure to radiation and high costs limit its application in this setting,especially for repeated assessments.We believe that ultrasound,a cheap and harmless technique also used for HCC screening in cirrhotic patients,could have an expanding role in the diagnosis and follow-up of sarcopenia in these patients.

Non-anatomical liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma:the SegSubTe classification to overcome the problem of heterogeneity

Background:The superiority of anatomical resection(AR)vs.non-anatomical resection(NAR)in the surgical management of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is debated.ARs are well-defined procedures,whereas the lack of NAR standardization results in heterogeneous outcomes.This study aimed to introduce the SegSubTe classification for NAR detailing the appropriateness of the level of surgical section of the Glissonean pedicles feeding the tumor.Methods:A single-center retrospective analysis of pre-and postoperative imaging of consecutive patients treated with NAR for single HCC between 2012 and 2020 was conducted.The quality of surgery was assessed classifying the type of vascular supply and the level of surgical section(segmental,subsegmental or terminal next to the tumor)of vascular pedicles feeding the HCCs;then,the population was divided in“SegSubTe-IN”or“SegSubTe-OUT”groups,and the tumor recurrence and survival were analyzed.Results:Ninety-seven patients who underwent NAR were included;76%were SegSubTe-IN and 24%were SegSubTe-OUT.Total disease recurrence,local recurrence and cut-edge recurrence in the SegSubTe-IN vs.SegSubTe-OUT groups were 50%vs.83%(P=0.006),20%vs.52%(P=0.003)and 16%vs.39%(P=0.020),respectively.SegSubTe-OUT odds ratio for local recurrence was 4.1 at univariate regression analysis.One-,three-,and five-year disease-free survival rates in the SegSubTe-IN vs.SegSubTe-OUT groups were 81%,58%and 35%vs.46%,21%and 11%,respectively(P<0.001).Conclusions:The SegSubTe classification is a useful tool to stratify and standardize NAR for HCC,aiming at improving long-term oncological outcomes and reducing the heterogeneity of quality of NAR for HCC.

Can serum immunoglobulin G4 levels and age serve as reliable predictors of relapse in autoimmune pancreatitis?

We are writing in response to the paper published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology by Zhou et al.The authors identified higher serum immunoglobulin(Ig)G4 levels and age over 55 years as independent risk factors for disease relapse.Despite notable strengths,it is crucial to address potential biases.Firstly,the cohort study included 189 patients with autoimmune pancreatitis(AIP)type 1(with higher IgG4 seropositivity and higher relapse)and 24 with type 2(with lower IgG4 seropositivity and lower relapse).Consequently,most,if not all,AIP type 2 patients were assigned to the normal group,possibly inflating the association of higher serum IgG4 levels with relapse and potentially exaggerating the association of older age with relapse.Secondly,the authors did not provide sufficient details regarding AIP diagnosis,such as the ratio of definitive vs probable cases and the proportion of biopsies.In cases where histological evidence is unavailable or indeterminate,AIP type 2 may be misdiagnosed as definitive type 1,and type 1 may also be misdiagnosed as probable type 2,particularly in cases with normal or mildly elevated serum IgG4 levels.Lastly,in this retrospective study,approximately one-third of the consecutive patients initially collected were excluded for various reasons.Accordingly,the impact of nonrandom exclusion on relapse outcomes should be carefully considered.In conclusion,the paper by Zhou et al offers plausible,though not entirely compelling,evidence suggesting a predictive role of elevated serum IgG4 levels and advanced age in AIP relapse.The foundation for future investigations lies in ensuring a reliable diagnosis and accurate disease subtyping,heavily dependent on obtaining histological specimens.In this regard,endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy emerges as a pivotal component of the diagnostic process,contributing to mitigating biases in future explorations of the disease.

Dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound in differential diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Non-invasive differential diagnosis between hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)and other liver cancer(i.e.cholangiocarcinoma or metastasis)is highly challenging and definitive diagnosis still relies on histological exam.The patterns of enhancement and wash-out of liver nodules can be used to stratify the risk of malignancy only in cirrhotic patients and HCC frequently shows atypical features.Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound(DCEUS)with standardized software could help to overcome these obstacles,providing functional and quantitative parameters and potentially improving accuracy in the evaluation of tumor perfusion.AIM To explore clinical evidence regarding the application of DCEUS in the differential diagnosis of liver nodules.METHODS A comprehensive literature search of clinical studies was performed to identify the parameters of DCEUS that could relate to histological diagnosis.In accordance with the study protocol,a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the evidence was planned.RESULTS Rise time was significantly higher in HCC patients with a standardized mean difference(SMD)of 0.83(95%CI:0.48-1.18).Similarly,other statistically significant parameters were mean transit time local with a SMD of 0.73(95%CI:0.20-1.27),peak enhancement with a SMD of 0.37(95%CI:0.03-0.70),area wash-in area under the curve with a SMD of 0.47(95%CI:0.13-0.81),wash-out area under the curve with a SMD of 0.55(95%CI:0.21-0.89)and wash-in and wash-out area under the curve with SMD of 0.51(95%CI:0.17-0.85).SMD resulted not significant in fall time and wash-in rate,but the latter presented a trend towards greater values in HCC compared to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.CONCLUSION DCEUS could improve non-invasive diagnosis of HCC,leading to less liver biopsy and early treatment.This quantitative analysis needs to be applied on larger cohorts to confirm these preliminary results.

Survival Analysis of Patients Undergoing Intraoperative Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound in the Surgical Treatment of Malignant Glioma

Objective:Complete resection of malignant gliomas is often challenging.Our previous study indicated that intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound(ICEUS)could aid in the detection of residual tumor remnants and the total removal of brain lesions.This study aimed to investigate the survival rates of patients undergoing resection with or without the use of ICEUS and to assess the impact of ICEUS on the prognosis of patients with malignant glioma.Methods:A total of 64 patients diagnosed with malignant glioma(WHO grade HI and IV)who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2018 were included.Among them,29 patients received ICEUS.The effects of ICEUS on overall survival(OS)and progression-free survival(PFS)of patients were evaluated.A quantitative analysis was performed to compare ICEUS parameters between gliomas and the surrounding tissues.Results:The ICEUS group showed better survival rates both in OS and PFS than the control group.The univariate analysis revealed that age,pathology and ICEUS were significant prognostic factors for PFS,with only age being a significant prognostic factor for OS.In multivariate analysis,age and ICEUS were significant prognostic factors for both OS and PFS.The quantitative analysis showed that the intensity and transit time of microbubbles reaching the tumors were significantly different from those of microbubbles reaching the surrounding tissue.Conclusion:ICEUS facilitates the identification of residual tumors.Age and ICEUS are prognostic factors for malignant glioma surgery,and use of ICEUS offers a better prognosis for patients with malignant glioma.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for essential tremor:a prospective,single center,single-arm study

The safety and effectiveness of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy has been broadly established and validated for the treatment of essential tremor.In 2018,the first magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound system in Chinese mainland was installed at the First Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital.This prospective,single center,open-label,single-arm study was part of a worldwide prospective multicenter clinical trial(ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT03253991)conducted to confirm the safety and efficacy of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for treating essential tremor in the local population.From 2019 to 2020,10 patients with medication refractory essential tremor were recruited into this open-label,single arm study.The treatment efficacy was determined using the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor.Safety was evaluated according to the incidence and severity of adverse events.All of the subjects underwent a unilateral thalamotomy targeting the ventral intermediate nucleus.At the baseline assessment,the estimated marginal mean of the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor total score was 58.3±3.6,and this improved after treatment to 23.1±6.4 at a 12-month follow-up assessment.A total of 50 adverse events were recorded,and 2 were defined as serious.The most common intraoperative adverse events were nausea and headache.The most frequent postoperative adverse events were paresthesia and equilibrium disorder.Most of the adverse events were mild and usually disappeared within a few days.Our findings suggest that magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for the treatment of essential tremor is effective,with a good safety profile,for patients in Chinese mainland.

Gastrointestinal contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for diagnosis and treatment of peptic ulcer in children

BACKGROUND The detection rate of peptic ulcer in children is improving,with development of diagnostic procedures.Gastroscopy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of peptic ulcer,but it is an invasive procedure.Gastrointestinal contrast-enhanced ultrasonography(CEUS)has the advantages of being painless,noninvasive,nonradioactive,easy to use,and safe.AIM To investigate the clinical value of CEUS for diagnosis and treatment of peptic ulcer in children.METHODS We investigated 43 children with digestive tract symptoms in our hospital from January 2021 to June 2022.All children were examined by routine ultrasound,gastrointestinal CEUS,and gastroscopy.The pathological results of gastroscopy were taken as the gold standard.Routine ultrasonography was performed before gastrointestinal CEUS.Conventional ultrasound showed the thickness of the gastroduodenal wall,gastric peristalsis,and the adjacent organs and tissues around the abdominal cavity.Gastrointestinal CEUS recorded the thickness of the gastroduodenal wall;the size,location and shape of the ulcer;gastric peristalsis;and adjacent organs and tissues around the abdominal cavity.The results of routine ultrasound and gastrointestinal ultrasound were compared with those of gastroscopy to evaluate the diagnostic results and coincidence rate of routine ultrasound and gastrointestinal CEUS.All children received informed consent from their guardians for CEUS.This study was reviewed and approved by the hospital medical ethics committee.RESULTS Among the 43 children,17(15 male,2 female)were diagnosed with peptic ulcer by gastroscopy.There were 26 children with nonpeptic ulcer.There were eight cases of peptic ulcer and 35 of nonpeptic ulcer diagnosed by conventional ultrasound.The diagnostic coincidence rate of peptic ulcer in children diagnosed by conventional ultrasound was 79.1%(34/43),which was significantly different from that of gastroscopy(P=0.033).It indicates that the coincidence rate of gastrointestinal contrast-enhanced ultrasound and gastroscope is low.Fifteen cases of peptic ulcer and 28 of nonpeptic ulcer were diagnosed by CEUS.The diagnostic coincidence rate of peptic ulcer in children was 95.3%(41/43).There was no significant difference between CEUS and gastroscopy(P=0.655).It indicates that the coincidence rate of gastrointestinal contrast-enhanced ultrasound and gastroscope is high.CONCLUSION Gastrointestinal CEUS has a high coincidence rate in the diagnosis of peptic ulcer in children,and can be used as a preliminary examination method.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before endoscopic ultrasound guided tissue acquisition to reduce the incidence of post procedural pancreatitis

Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)with fine needle aspiration or fine needle biopsy is the gold standard for sampling tissue to diagnose pancreatic cancer and auto-immune pancreatitis or to analyze cyst fluid.The most common reported adverse event of fine needle aspiration and/or fine needle biopsy is acute pancreatitis,which is likely induced by the same pathophysiological mechanisms as after en-doscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP).According to the current European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guideline,nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are administered prior to ERCP as a scientifically proven treatment to reduce post-ERCP pancreatitis incidence rate.A single suppository of diclofenac or indomethacin prior to EUS guided tissue acquisition(TA)is harm-less in healthy adults.Since it is associated with low costs and,most important,may prevent a dreadsome complication,we strongly recommend the adminis-tration of 100 mg diclofenac rectally prior to EUS-TA.We will explain this recom-mendation in more detail in this review as well as the risk and pathophysiology of post-EUS TA pancreatitis.

Transanal eco-Doppler evaluation after hemorrhoidal artery embolization

BACKGROUND Hemorrhoidal artery embolization(Emborrhoid)is a novel method for the treatment of severe hemorrhoidal bleeding.Despite having a technical success rate of 93%-100%,the clinical success ranges between 63%and 94%,with a rebleeding rate of 13.6%.AIM To evaluate the effectiveness of this procedure in reducing hemorrhoidal flow and hemorrhoidal bleeding.METHODS This prospective observational pilot study was conducted at Division of General Surgery 1 and Tertiary Referral Pelvic Floor Center,Treviso Regional Hospital,Italy.In a 2 months period(February-March 2022),consecutive patients with hemorrhoidal bleeding scores(HBSs)≥4,Goligher scores of II or III,failure of non-operative management,and a candidate for Emborrhoid were included.Endoanal ultrasound with eco-Doppler was performed preoperatively and 1 month after the procedure.The primary endpoint was to quantify the changes in arterial hemorrhoidal flow after treatment.The secondary endpoint was to evaluate the correlation between the flow changes and the HBS.RESULTS Eleven patients underwent Emborrhoid.The overall pretreatment mean systolic peak(MSP)was 14.66 cm/s.The highest MSP values were found in the anterior left lateral(17.82 cm/s at 1 o’clock and 15.88 cm/s at 3 o’clock)and in the posterior right lateral(14.62 cm/s at 7 o’clock and 16.71 cm/s at 9 o’clock)quadrants of the anal canal.After treatment,the overall MSP values were significantly reduced(P=0.008)although the correlation between MSP and HBS changes was weak(P=0.570).A statistical difference was found between distal embolization compared with proximal embolization(P=0.047).However,the coil landing zone was not related to symptoms improvement(P=1.000).A significant difference in MSP changes was also reported between patients with type 1 and type 2 superior rectal artery(SRA)anatomy(P=0.040).No relationship between hemorrhoidal grades(P=1.000),SRA anatomy(P=1.000)and treatment outcomes was found.CONCLUSION The preliminary findings of this pilot study confirm that Emborrhoid was effective in reducing the arterial hemorrhoidal flow in hemorrhoidal disease.However,the correlation between the post-operative MSP and HBS changes was weak.Hemorrhoidal grade,SRA anatomy and type of embolization were not related to treatment outcomes.

Secure Transmission of Compressed Medical Image Sequences on Communication Networks Using Motion Vector Watermarking

Medical imaging plays a key role within modern hospital management systems for diagnostic purposes.Compression methodologies are extensively employed to mitigate storage demands and enhance transmission speed,all while upholding image quality.Moreover,an increasing number of hospitals are embracing cloud computing for patient data storage,necessitating meticulous scrutiny of server security and privacy protocols.Nevertheless,considering the widespread availability of multimedia tools,the preservation of digital data integrity surpasses the significance of compression alone.In response to this concern,we propose a secure storage and transmission solution for compressed medical image sequences,such as ultrasound images,utilizing a motion vector watermarking scheme.The watermark is generated employing an error-correcting code known as Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem(BCH)and is subsequently embedded into the compressed sequence via block-based motion vectors.In the process of watermark embedding,motion vectors are selected based on their magnitude and phase angle.When embedding watermarks,no specific spatial area,such as a region of interest(ROI),is used in the images.The embedding of watermark bits is dependent on motion vectors.Although reversible watermarking allows the restoration of the original image sequences,we use the irreversible watermarking method.The reason for this is that the use of reversible watermarks may impede the claims of ownership and legal rights.The restoration of original data or images may call into question ownership or other legal claims.The peak signal-to-noise ratio(PSNR)and structural similarity index(SSIM)serve as metrics for evaluating the watermarked image quality.Across all images,the PSNR value exceeds 46 dB,and the SSIM value exceeds 0.92.Experimental results substantiate the efficacy of the proposed technique in preserving data integrity.

Portal vein pulsatility:An important sonographic tool assessment of systemic congestion for critical ill patients

In this editorial we comment on the article by Kuwahara et al,published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Cardiology.In this interesting paper,the authors showed a correlation between portal vein pulsatility ratio,examined by bedside ultrasonography,and prognosis of hospitalized patients with acute heart failure.Systemic congestion is being notoriously underdetected in the acutely ill population with conventional methods like clinical examination,biomarkers,central venous pressure estimation and X-rays.However,congestion should be a key therapeutic target due to its deleterious effects to end organ function and subsequently patient prognosis.Doppler flow assessment of the abdominal veins is gaining popularity worldwide,as a valuable tool in estimating comprehensively congestion and giving a further insight into hemodynamics and patient management.

Seeing beneath the surface:Harnessing point-of-care ultrasound for internal jugular vein evaluation

Point-of-care ultrasound(POCUS)of the internal jugular vein(IJV)offers a noninvasive means of estimating right atrial pressure(RAP),especially in cases where the inferior vena cava is inaccessible or unreliable due to conditions such as liver disease or abdominal surgery.While many clinicians are familiar with visually assessing jugular venous pressure through the internal jugular vein,this method lacks sensitivity.The utilization of POCUS significantly enhances the visualization of the vein,leading to a more accurate identification.It has been demonstrated that combining IJV POCUS with physical examination enhances the specificity of RAP estimation.This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the various sonographic techniques available for estimating RAP from the internal jugular vein,drawing upon existing data.

Automatic detection of breast lesions in automated 3D breast ultrasound with cross-organ transfer learning

Background Deep convolutional neural networks have garnered considerable attention in numerous machine learning applications,particularly in visual recognition tasks such as image and video analyses.There is a growing interest in applying this technology to diverse applications in medical image analysis.Automated three dimensional Breast Ultrasound is a vital tool for detecting breast cancer,and computer-assisted diagnosis software,developed based on deep learning,can effectively assist radiologists in diagnosis.However,the network model is prone to overfitting during training,owing to challenges such as insufficient training data.This study attempts to solve the problem caused by small datasets and improve model detection performance.Methods We propose a breast cancer detection framework based on deep learning(a transfer learning method based on cross-organ cancer detection)and a contrastive learning method based on breast imaging reporting and data systems(BI-RADS).Results When using cross organ transfer learning and BIRADS based contrastive learning,the average sensitivity of the model increased by a maximum of 16.05%.Conclusion Our experiments have demonstrated that the parameters and experiences of cross-organ cancer detection can be mutually referenced,and contrastive learning method based on BI-RADS can improve the detection performance of the model.