Diagnostic Ultrasound in the Head and Neck Region

Abstract

This paper aims to provide the general practitioner with an overview of the basic principles of image formation, the advantages and disadvantages of US, and an outline of its indications for conditions that might present to the dental practitioner.

Sonographic Appearance of Parotid Glands in Patients Treated With Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy or Conventional Radiotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…In the present study, the echogenicity of the parotid gland was compared with the adjacent masseter muscle. The advantage of comparing the echogenicity of the gland with the masseter muscle was that both structures were closely located and thus they could be demonstrated in the same ultrasound image, which was convenient and efficient for clinical comparison (Howlett 2003;Kotecha et al 2008). Although the echogenicity of the masseter muscle might change after irradiation, the radiation tolerance of muscle was found to be significantly higher than that of parotid gland, and hence the echogenicity variation of muscle after irradiation should not be as much as that in the parotid glands (Emami et al 1991;Ying et al 2007).…”

Assessment of post-radiotherapy salivary glands

“…Ultrasonography is widely used in cancer imaging and screening as it is safe, non-invasive, inexpensive, widely available and carries no radiation hazard [39]. It is useful in delineating superficial soft-tissue structures including those in head and neck regions like the thyroid gland, lymph nodes and salivary glands.…”

Current and Future Lymphatic Imaging Modalities for Tumor Staging

“…The diagnosis of lymphatic problems in patients suffering from the cancer of head and neck is promisingly done using B-mode ultrasonography [29]. The transducers, having high-resolution as well as elevated frequency ranged between 5–20 MHz, produce optimal ultrasonographic results (90% accuracy rate) of the head and neck.…”