CEUS using Sonazoid was confirmed to be superior to unenhanced ultrasound for the differential diagnosis (benign vs malignant) of focal breast lesions in terms of diagnostic accuracy with no serious adverse reactions.

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Background Ultrasonography (US) is widely used for the diagnosis of liver tumors. However, the accuracy of the diagnosis largely depends on the visual perception of humans. Hence, we aimed to construct artificial intelligence (AI) models for the diagnosis of liver tumors in US. Methods We constructed three AI models based on still B-mode images: model-1 using 24,675 images, model-2 using 57,145 images, and model-3 using 70,950 images. A convolutional neural network was used to train the US images. The four-class liver tumor discrimination by AI, namely, cysts, hemangiomas, hepatocellular carcinoma, and metastatic tumors, was examined. The accuracy of the AI diagnosis was evaluated using tenfold cross-validation. The diagnostic performances of the AI models and human experts were also compared using an independent test cohort of video images. Results The diagnostic accuracies of model-1, model-2, and model-3 in the four tumor types are 86.8%, 91.0%, and 91.1%, whereas those for malignant tumor are 91.3%, 94.3%, and 94.3%, respectively. In the independent comparison of the AIs and physicians, the percentages of correct diagnoses (accuracies) by the AIs are 80.0%, 81.8%, and 89.1% in model-1, model-2, and model-3, respectively. Meanwhile, the median percentages of correct diagnoses are 67.3% (range 63.6%–69.1%) and 47.3% (45.5%–47.3%) by human experts and non-experts, respectively. Conclusion  The performance of the AI models surpassed that of human experts in the four-class discrimination and benign and malignant discrimination of liver tumors. Thus, the AI models can help prevent human errors in US diagnosis.

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of routine clinical examination using three‐dimensional power Doppler sonography of intratumoral blood flow. Twenty‐two hepatocellular carcinomas, seven cases of hepatic metastasis, four hepatic hemangiomas, six renal cell carcinomas, two cases of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia, and one case of splenic metastasis were included in the study. Three‐dimensional images were reconstructed by maximum intensity projection method using cine‐loop data on a built‐in computer in a LOGIQ 500 and a LOGIQ 700 from GE Yokogawa Medical Systems. The three‐dimensional images obtained were viewed multidirectionally on a monitor screen. Three‐dimensional representations of intratumoral blood flow became available for all tumors approximately 5 s to 30 s after scanning. In every case, the entire vasculature of the tumor was appreciated more easily from three‐dimensional images than from cross‐sectional two‐dimensional images. These three‐dimensional images of intratumoral blood flows corresponded to the tumor vessels that could be visualized by angiography at the early arterial phase. Differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors based on distinct difference in their intratumoral vascular structures was performed. Our results suggest that three‐dimensional power Doppler sonography can be used for routine clinical examination of tumor vascularity and may provide improved diagnostic information.

A good correlation exists between ABC classifications and radiological findings for gastric cancer risk, but some discrepant cases exist. We recommend both methods as screening for gastric cancer.

Transcatheter arterial chemo-embolization using Lipiodol ® is one of the treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma. During this procedure, it is important to monitor the Lipiodol ® deposited inside tumors. This study proposes a method for measurement of the temperature dependence of the velocity of sound in biological tissues. An ultrasonic pulse-echo method was used to measure the velocity of sound. The temperature coefficients of the velocity of sound for Lipiodol ® was −2.82 m s −1 °C−1 . Values of 1.07 and 1.59 m s −1 °C−1 were obtained for normal rat liver and cancerous liver tissue, respectively. Thus, this procedure may potentially allow for the evaluation of the infiltration of Lipiodol ® inside tumors.