Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous umbilical blood sampling. Methods Eight hundred and seventy-two pregnancies with proper indications underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous umbilical sampling. The data of each procedure were prospectively collected and subsequently analyzed for successful rate and pregnancy outcomes. Results Of 872 ultrasound-guided percutaneous umbilical sampling, 62.7% were done successfully at the first attempt, 36.0% were done successfully by two to four attempts. 31.4% fetuses had mild procedure-related complications and 0.3% fetuses had severe complications. Conclusion We should improve the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous umbilical sampling and make it a correct, safe and effective procedure for prenatal diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the clinical application value of ultrasonography in excising breast mass with Mammotome vacuum assisted biopsy device and a stereotactic unit(MMT).Methods Guided by ultrasonography,breast masses were biopsy and excised with MMT.The property of masses were identified by pathology.The effects were followed up with ultrasonography.Results Sixty one masses of breast in 34 cases were excised.Pathology showed that 54 were fibroadenoma and 7 were fibroadenosis.The patients had little discomfort in operation and few complications post operation.There were no relapses during short interviews.Conclusions MMT can biopsy and excise the breast mass guided by ultrasonography.The operation has little wound and few complications.It is a useful minimally invasive method which does not influence the appearance of breast.Ultrasonography can insure operation safety and precision.The effects are evaluated immediately.

Objective To investigate the conventional ultrasonic and elastographic characteristics of papillary thyroid micro-carcinomas(PTMC) suffered in normal and Hashimoto's thyroiditis(HT).Methods A total of 227 patients with 249 nodules that were confirmed by surgery or biopsy were included in this study.The cases were divided into normal group and HT group.All patients underwent conventional ultrasound and elastography (static pressure).The sonographic characteristics and strain ratio (SR) value were evaluated.Results In the normal group,the ratio between male and female was 1 ∶ 2.9,while in HT group,it was 1 ∶ 11,which was significant different between the two group (P =0.002).Sonographic characteristics that had no significant difference between the two groups (P ＞0.05) include:boundary,shape,vertical and horizontal ratio,halo,echogenicity,calcification,posterior shadowing,vascularity on color Doppler ultrasonography.The strain ratio value was statistically different between the two groups (P =0.034),with 3.44 ± 1.03 in normal group and 3.13 ± 1.13 in HT group.Conclusions The conventional ultrasonographic features of PTMC were similar in both normal thyroid and HT.However,females suffering HT were more susceptible to PTMC,and the strain ratio value of PTMC concomitant HT decreased.

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic value of minimally invasive excision of benign breast lesions using stereotactic mammotome minimally invasive surgery system.Methods Under ultrasonographic image monitoring,1160 breast masses of 310 patients were excised using mammotome minimally invasive stereotactic excision system and sent for pathologic examinations immediatly.Patients′condition was follow-ed up and recorded post-operative.Their clinical data were retrospectively analysed.Results Accurate and complete resection of all of the 1160 breast masses was achieved.The resected tissues were large enough to make pathologic diagnosis.The pathologic diagnoses were all found to be benign,and included: fibroadenoma(n=672),fibroadenosis(n=451),intraductal papilloma(n=12),cyst(n=6),cystic hyperplasia(n=17) and tubular adenoma(n=17).Regular follow up every 6-12 months was done.Postoperative surgical scars were unremarkable,the skin incisions were small and concealed,breast appearance and skin sensation were normal and ultrasonography did not reveal residual lesions or recurrences.Conclusions Complete resection of benign breast lesions can be done with mammotome technique.This technique is safe,accurate and effective.Moreover,there is little trauma,low complication rate,and the breast appearance is not affected.This minimally invasive excision technique for benign breast lesions is suitable for wide use.

Objective To study the value of ultrasonographic diagnosis of galactostasis in lactation.MethodsPatients in lactation and post-lactation were examined by color Doppler ultrasonography.Combined puncture,operation and pathology,the imaging features of different stage were summarized.Results The type of galactostasis included ductal ectasia,galactocele,infection and consolidation.The ultrasonographic examination with imaging features can determine the diagnosis and judge the type and the course of disease.Conclusions Ultrasonography is a first choice in diagnosing galactostasis in lactation.

Objective To expatiate the ultrasonographical and pathological manifestations of breasts with juvenile macromastia.Methods Four patients with juvenile macromastia were examined by high frequency ultrasonography.The sonographical and pathological images were observed and reported.Results The sonographical characteristics of the breasts with juvenile macromastia were similar: the anatomical structures of the breasts were obscure,which were characterized by cystic formation,reticular structure,patched hypoechoic or hyperechoic regions and distorted gland structure.One patient had fibroadenoma and dermatic erythema.The results of pathological examination showed marked cystic proliferation of glands accompanied with ductal epithelial hyperplasia,irregular ductal distribution,no lobules formation or proliferation of fat tissue,fibrocyte and fibroblast.Conclusions The abnormalities of juvenile macromastia may not only be the huge volume,but also may include abnormal ultrasonographical and pathological manifestations,awaiting more follow-up studies.

Accurate DNA quantitation is a prerequisite in many biomedical and pharmaceutical studies. Here we established a new DNA quantitation method by nuclease P1 digestion and UPLC-MS/MS analysis. DNA fragments can be efficiently hydrolyzed to single deoxyribonucleotides by nuclease P1 in a short time. The decent stabilities of all the four deoxyribonucleotides were confirmed under different conditions. Deoxyadenosine monophosphate (dAMP) was selected as the surrogate for DNA quantitation because dAMP showed the highest sensitivity among the four deoxyribonucleotides in the UPLC-MS/MS analysis. The linear range in DNA quantitation by this method is 1.2-5000 ng/mL. In the validation, the inter-day and intra-day accuracies were within 90％-110％, and the inter-day and intra-day precision were acceptable (RSD<10％). The validated method was successfully applied to quantitate DNA isolated from tumors and organs of a mouse xenograft model. Compared to the quantitation methods using UV absorbance, the reported method provides an enhanced sensitivity, and it allows for the accurate quantitation of isolated DNA with contamination of RNA and ribonucleotide.

The method for segmenting malignant halo of malignant breast tumor in ultrasound image is useful in providing evidence for the differential diagnosis of breast tumor. In this respect, we adopt an improved anisotropic diffusion filtering method to preprocess the breast tumor ultrasound image, and then apply an improved LBF model with combination of Otsu and morphology methods to extract internal and external contours for obtaining malignant halo based on LBF model proposed by Li. We compare our data of malignant halo with doctor's manual-sketched malignant halo, and make quantitative analysis. The result shows that the malignant halo segmented by the proposed methods in this paper is in accordance with the manual-sketched malignant halo.
Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Image Enhancement ; methods ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Models, Theoretical ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods ; Ultrasonography, Mammary ; methods

Objective To evaluate the assessment of tumor's size with ultrasound in research of prognosis of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Clinical data of 148 patients with HCC who underwent liver transplantation were analyzed retrospectively. Results One-, 2-,3-,and 5-year overall actuarial survival were 73.3% ,45.6% ,35.4% ,and 32.1%,respectively. One-,2-,3-,and 5-year overall recurrence-free survival were 70.7 %, 44.3 %, 38. 5%, and 34. 5%, respectively. The overall tumor recurrence rate was 43.2%. Univariate analysis indicates that (the Kaplan-Meier method with the Log-Rank test) the total tumor burden (TTB) (χ2=15.098,P=0.001) was found to be significantly affecting the actuarial survival. While TTB (χ2=29. 038, P<0.001) was for recurrence-free survival. In multivariate analysis (with the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model), TTB (R2=1.610, P =0. 008) was found to be an independent predictor of actuarial survival. On the other hand, TTB (R2 =2. 206, P<0.001) was identified as the prognostic factor independently related to recurrence-free survival. Conclusions TTB is an independent prognostic factor for patients with liver transplantation for HCC. Assessment of tumor size with ultrasound is beneficial to the evaluation of indication for liver transplantation when patients with HCC were concerned.

Based on the breast ultrasound database of West China Hospital from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2007, a study of data mining techniques for utilizing the diagnostic information of breast ultrasound and breast pathology was carried out. An innovative computerized retrieval system was invented. With the visual user interface of the system, the data of benignancy or malignancy diagnosed by ultrasound and pathologic examination, and the data on the diagnostic correlation of ultrasound and pathology were obtained, respectively. The qualities of data mining were 99. 98%-100%. By means of the retrieval system, the users can secure numerous data from the breast ultrasound database rapidly and accurately; so it contributes to the rational utilization of information from medical database for serving various medical studies. This method may also be helpful for doctors to utilize ultrasound database in other fields.
Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Data Mining ; Databases, Factual ; Female ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; methods ; Medical Records Systems, Computerized ; Ultrasonography