Dear AuntMinnie Member,
ECR 2024 has come and gone, but once again the conference delivered on highlighting interesting findings from medical imaging studies conducted around the world, including those involving ultrasound. Research presented at the annual conference demonstrated how the modality continues to demonstrate its versatility in screening and diagnostic settings.
For instance, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an effective problem-solving tool that can be used in many applications within diagnostic and interventional imaging. Find out what one ECR presenter highlighted about CEUS by accessing our coverage here.
Also at the conference, Swiss researchers presented a study showing how considering coronal reconstruction results on automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) can help clinicians avoid false negatives. And healthcare vendors unveiled new offerings at ECR 2024: Canon highlighted its midrange Aplio me ultrasound scanner and GE HealthCare debuted its Logiq Totus midrange, full-body ultrasound scanner at the conference.
In other news, a medical team at the University of California Davis Health performed what it’s calling the world’s first endoscopic, ultrasound-guided core biopsy of a pancreatic tumor with a drilling method. Team lead Antonio Mendoza-Ladd, MD, spoke with AuntMinnie.com on the procedure and how it could be superior to conventional biopsy techniques.
Ultrasound’s potential in breast imaging also continues to be explored. Some recent studies in this area include how a deep-learning method could improve clinical strategies for addressing ultrasound BI-RADS 4A lesions and how shear-wave elastography (SWE) might serve as an indicator for assessing the risk of breast implant rupture.
Also, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published findings on the initial success of their ultrasound “sticker,” which they wrote can successfully measure tissue stiffness. MIT’s Xuanhe Zhao, PhD, spoke with AuntMinnie.com about the sticker’s design and output, as well as how this could help in monitoring patients who recently had organ transplantation operations.
Another study found that focused ultrasound could help ease pain by manipulating the area of the brain that registers pain. A team from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC (Virginia Tech Carilion) found that study participants reported lower pain levels after undergoing procedures using low-intensity focused waves.
Finally, Northwestern University researchers outlined how a thyroid ultrasound imaging database could lead to more effective diagnostic and treatment models being developed. They also introduced a marker mask inpainting (MMI) method to erase artificial markers and improve image quality.
Are there any other examples of ultrasound’s versatility that you think we should be aware of? We invite you to send us an email -- and to continue to check out our ultrasound content area.
![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)
