Recent applications of ultrasound: diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Ultrasound (US) has the advantages of real-time observation, simple technique, and a noninvasive procedure compared to other imaging modalities. The recent development of digital technologies has enabled the observation of sonograms with improved signal-to-noise ratio, penetration, and spatial and contrast resolutions. Furthermore, microbubble contrast agents have increased the diagnostic ability of US examination, and the use of three-dimensional sonograms is now not unusual. These advances have furthered the usefulness of US for liver tumors in clinical practice. This article reviews the recent applications of US in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Comparing Differential Tissue Harmonic Imaging With Tissue Harmonic and Fundamental Gray Scale Imaging of the Liver

“…Recent advances in ultrasound technology, such as tissue harmonic imaging (THI), have made ultrasound even more widely used in liver imaging than previously. [1][2][3] In fundamental gray scale sonography, the same frequency spectrum that is transmitted into the patient is subsequently received (albeit modified by attenuation) to produce the sonographic image. In THI, higher harmonic frequencies (multiples of the fundamental frequency) generated by the nonlinear propagation of the ultrasound beam through tissues are used to produce the image.…”

How to characterize non‐hypervascular hepatic nodules on contrast‐enhanced computed tomography in chronic liver disease: Feasibility of contrast‐enhanced ultrasound with a microbubble contrast agent

“…The first was that the subject consisted of limited kinds of hepatic nodules, HCC, and RN. Therefore, all nodules with negative or weak enhancement compared to surrounding liver parenchyma in the liver‐specific phase were HCC, while metastatic liver tumors and some benign lesions showed the same enhancement appearances in this phase 16,18–23 . Furthermore, there were no lesions with the pathological result of DN, considered to be a premalignant lesion.…”

“…Thanks to the development of microbubble contrast agents, contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has become popular in the diagnosis of liver disease as a non‐invasive procedure 14–17 . There have been many studies with sufficient results concerning the characterization of hepatic nodules and the evaluation of therapeutic effects 18–26 .…”

“…Thanks to the development of microbubble contrast agents, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has become popular in the diagnosis of liver disease as a non-invasive procedure. [14][15][16][17] There have been many studies with sufficient results concerning the characterization of hepatic nodules and the evaluation of therapeutic effects. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] However, the characterization of hepatic nodules without hypervascular appearance using CEUS has not been fully discussed.…”

High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging for Longitudinal Evaluation of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Progression in Mice

“…US is a well proof non-invasive method for the detection of liver lesions in human (Maruyama and Ebara 2006) and veterinary medicine (Gaschen 2009). In the recent years it has been used to detect hepatic pathology in research animals (Echevarria-Uraga et al 2010; Lessa et al 2010; Lisi et al 2003), including mice (Graham et al 2005; Mai et al 2004; Schmitz et al 2004).…”