Dear AuntMinnie Member,
If you're a sonographer, is scanning becoming a pain in the neck?
A literal pain in the neck, that is. If so, you're not alone, according to our latest Making a Difference as a Sonographer column by Doug Wuebben.
The growing stress of our daily lives is leading to more pain and injuries in the area of the head, neck, and shoulders, and this is particularly true for sonographers. Fortunately, Mr. Wuebben offers a series of solutions that will reduce your pain without forcing you to take hours out of your workday.
Take your first steps toward scanning without pain by clicking here, or visit our Ultrasound Community at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
PET/MRI for pelvic cancer
In other news, German researchers have found that PET/MRI compares favorably to PET/CT for restaging patients with gynecological cancers.
While PET/MRI scans had slightly longer procedure times, there were no statistically significant differences in diagnostic accuracy for patients with ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers, the researchers discovered. PET/MRI had the added advantage of lower radiation dose.
Learn more by clicking here, or visit our Molecular Imaging Community at molecular.auntminnie.com.
Coronary spasms
Finally, check out a new study from Japan that found that patients with spasms near sites of coronary stenosis had a higher risk of experiencing a heart attack in the future. You'll find that article by clicking here.
![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)