Dear Ultrasound Insider,
Nobody wants to be sued. But the best way to win a malpractice case is to avoid it in the first place, according to Heather Hansen of law firm O'Brien & Ryan in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
In a talk on medicolegal issues in ultrasound at the Leading Edge in Diagnostic Ultrasound conference in Atlantic City, NJ, Hansen shared some strategies for accomplishing that important goal.
As an Insider subscriber, you have access to this Insider Exclusive before it is published for the rest of our AuntMinnie.com members. To learn more about ultrasound medicolegal issues, click here.
In other articles from the Leading Edge conference, you can get caught up on efforts to develop contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for molecular imaging by clicking here. You can also read about the latest on clinical trials aimed at bringing CEUS for radiology applications to the U.S.
Stay tuned for additional coverage from Leading Edge in the coming weeks.
In other news, focused abdominal sonography in trauma (FAST) is being recommended as a first-line tool for assessing blunt abdominal trauma in kids. Click here for the details from associate editor Cynthia E. Keen.
In addition, associate editor Kate Madden Yee has our coverage of how a new Connecticut breast density law will affect the use of breast ultrasound in the state. For that article, click here.
Also, researchers have found that thyroid elastography shows potential for reducing the number of unnecessary fine-needle aspiration biopsies.
Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like to see covered in your Ultrasound Digital Community? As always, please feel free to drop me a line.
![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)