Researchers from the Universität Leipzig in Germany have found that a new kind of ultrasound probe improves the quality of ultrasound images of the liver and kidney in obese patients.
The new type of probe, called "matrix probes," have an "improved transmitting and receiving performance and therefore achieve greater penetration depth into the tissue," the university said in a statement. The probes are still under clinical investigation, it said.
Scan of the liver of an obese patient. The image quality of the standard ultrasound probe (left) is significantly poorer than that of the high-performance probes (center and left). Image and caption courtesy of Universität Leipzig.
Lead author Thomas Karlas, MD, of the university and colleagues conducted a study that included 40 participants with varying degrees of obesity who underwent an ultrasound exam of the liver and right kidney with a standard probe and two high-performance probes.
“[Our] results showed that as the body mass index of the patients increased, the image quality of the ultrasound decreased," he said in a statement released by the university. "It also became clear that modern probes with matrix technology improve the quality of ultrasound imaging [among obese patients]."
![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)