Dear Ultrasound Insider,
If your institution uses a teleradiology provider for off-hours image interpretation, how do you handle ultrasound scans? That's the question that researchers from France recently asked, and their experience is the subject of this week's Insider Exclusive.
In response to a shortage of radiologists, the Lorraine region of France recently adopted teleradiology to enable a single radiologist to provide off-hours coverage to multiple hospitals. But after-hours requests for ultrasound scans presented a problem, in particular due to rules in France that prohibit scans from being performed without the presence of a radiologist.
The group found that most ultrasound exams could be either postponed or replaced with other imaging modalities -- but this approach presented problems of its own. Find out what they are by clicking here.
In other news, there were new developments this week in the disturbing case out of Australia in which the proprietor of a keepsake ultrasound clinic allegedly provided expectant mothers with fake 4D ultrasound fetal images. A trial is expected to start in July. Get an update by clicking here.
Dr. Jason Birnholz is back with a new column in which he waxes philosophical about the very nature of ultrasound -- its roots in physics. Dr. Birnholz compares the physics of ultrasound to that of its elder sibling, radiography, taking the thesis that sonography has struggled academically and intellectually due to a lack of understanding of its common roots. Read his thought-provoking essay by clicking here.
In other recent articles in your Ultrasound Community, check out the following:
- A recommendation that ultrasound should be the first choice for female pelvic imaging
- A study from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) on how sonography has the edge over MRI and mammography in assessing the size of breast tumors
- Research, also from AIUM 2015, that indicates that ultrasound could be a better choice than radiography for diagnosing pediatric pneumonia
- Our most recent article from Doug Wuebben on the potential pitfalls behind a projection that the job market for sonographers will grow in future years
Get these stories and more at ultrasound.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)
