Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The U.S. isn't used to being a technology laggard, particularly with respect to healthcare, but one area where it's fallen behind is ultrasound contrast. While the U.S. muddles along with only two commercially available agents for cardiology applications, radiologists in Europe have access to ultrasound contrast for a gamut of both radiology and cardiology procedures.
The situation may be changing, however. Ultrasound contrast advocates in the U.S. have been pushing to get contrast approved for radiology use, and their efforts are being rewarded with the launch of two clinical trials that could lead to broader availability, according to a presentation this week at the Leading Edge in Diagnostic Ultrasound conference.
Senior editor Erik L. Ridley is on hand to report on the conference proceedings for our redesigned Ultrasound Digital Community, which is sporting a new, cleaner look just in time for the conference. Click here to learn about what's going on in ultrasound contrast, and check back in the community this week for more reporting from Atlantic City.
The good, bad, and ugly of healthcare reform
Our apologies to Clint Eastwood, but some Washington, DC, watchers are likening the new healthcare reform law's impact on radiology to the actor's epic spaghetti western film, according to a story in our Imaging Center Digital Community by associate editor Kate Madden Yee.
The positive aspects of the bill include its resolution of uncertainty over the direction of healthcare reform, in addition to some provisions that could reduce physician self-referral. The bad stuff includes cuts in the equipment utilization rate and the lack of an effective fix for the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
And the ugly? A few provisions that have some folks who have actually read the legislation worried. Find out what they are by clicking here, or visit the community at centers.auntminnie.com.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)