In this paper, we introduce a coded excitation circuit for medical ultrasonic endoscope imaging system. This circuit is composed of TC6320 and its drive chip. The experiment demonstrates that this circuit can export frequency-adjustable, duration-controllable coded signals, and its voltage reaches +/-60 V. It still works well when excitant frequency reaches 30 MHz. Compared with the conventional medical ultrasonic pulse-echo imaging system, this coded excitation system has the potential of higher SNR and deeper penetration depth, especially for the small emission power system. This method has a bright future.
Endosonography ; instrumentation ; methods ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Transducers

Intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) is one of the most useful diagnostic tools for various extrahepatic biliary diseases. However, conventional IDUS has some limitations in providing accurate cross-sectional imaging of the bile duct in patients with extensive pneumobilia. Using a balloon-sheathed catheter, the US system (balloon-sheathed IDUS) can overcome these limitations. Sixteen patients underwent balloon-sheathed IDUS during endoscopic retrograde cholangiography. The balloon-sheathed IDUS was inserted via a transpapillary route when visualization of the bile duct with conventional IDUS was distorted by extensive pneumobilia. The patient group had a mean age of 65.5 years, and 56.3% (9/16) were male. The balloon-sheathed IDUS permitted successful visualization of the bile duct in all patients, regardless of the extent of pneumobilia. Using this system, remnant common bile duct stones were detected in five patients (31.3%), and cholangiocarcinoma was detected in one patient (6.3%). The balloon-sheath IDUS aided in stone sweeping. No significant complications, including bleeding, perforation, or pancreatitis, occurred in any of the patients. The balloon-sheathed catheter US system was useful and safe for biliary IDUS in patients with extensive pneumobilia.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biliary Tract Diseases/*ultrasonography ; Catheterization/instrumentation/methods ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde/instrumentation/*methods ; Endosonography/instrumentation/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography, Interventional/instrumentation/*methods

No abstract available.
Adult ; Choledochostomy/*adverse effects/instrumentation/methods ; Duodenum/*injuries ; Endosonography/*adverse effects/instrumentation/methods ; Female ; Humans ; Jaundice, Obstructive/diagnostic imaging/etiology/surgery ; Self Expandable Metallic Stents/adverse effects

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a forward-viewing linear endoscopic ultrasound (FV-EUS) in diagnostic EUS procedures compared to standard oblique-viewing EUS (OV-EUS). METHODS: This study was a prospective, randomized study that permitted crossover. Fifty-one patients with subepithelial pancreatobiliary and upper gastrointestinal lesions underwent FV-EUS and OV-EUS sequentially, in random order. The EUS visualization was performed by a novice endosonographer, and the image quality of specific lesions was scored by an expert endosonographer. If fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was indicated, it was performed using both echoendoscopes by an expert endosonographer. RESULTS: Both of the EUS procedures had similar visualization times and image quality. In general, the visualization time was inversely related to the diameter of the specific lesions. In subepithelial lesions of the stomach and duodenum, the visualization time (98.8+/-62.2 seconds vs 139.0+/-66.6 seconds, p=0.008) and image quality (4.1+/-1.3 vs 3.3+/-1.7, p=0.02) of FV-EUS were significantly superior to OV-EUS. FV-EUS-guided FNA of pancreatic masses was successful in seven patients (87.5%). CONCLUSIONS: FV-EUS may increase the ease of access to gastrointestinal subepithelial lesions compared to conventional OV-EUS. The performance of FV-EUS for evaluating pancreatobiliary diseases and performing interventions was comparable to conventional OV-EUS.
Aged ; Biliary Tract Neoplasms/*ultrasonography ; Cross-Over Studies ; Endosonography/*instrumentation/methods ; *Equipment Design ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/*ultrasonography ; Humans ; Image Enhancement/*instrumentation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*ultrasonography ; Prospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo compare mini-probe endoscopic ultrasonography (MCUS) with computed tomography (CT) in preoperative T and N staging of esophageal cancer, and to find out the MCUS parameters to judge lymph node metastasis for esophageal cancer.

METHODSThirty-five patients received both MCUS and CT preoperatively, on both of which the T and N stages were determined. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predicting value and negative predicting value were compared with the postoperative pathological results.

RESULTSThe accuracy of MCUS was 85.7% in T staging and 85.7% and 80.0% in N staging by the two different methods, which were 45.7% and 74.3%, respectively, by CT.

CONCLUSIONMCUS is better than CT in preoperative staging for esophageal cancer. The ratio of short to long axis (S/L) combined with short axis is a useful way to determine lymph node metastasis.

Adult ; Aged ; Double-Blind Method ; Endosonography ; instrumentation ; methods ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Esophagus ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; methods ; Preoperative Care ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: We evaluated the utility of 10-, 12-, and 16-core prostate biopsies for detecting prostate cancer (PCa) and correlated the results with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, prostate volumes, Gleason scores, and detection rates of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) and atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective controlled study was conducted in 354 consecutive patients with various indications for prostate biopsy. Sixteen-core biopsy specimens were obtained from 351 patients. The first 10-core biopsy specimens were obtained bilaterally from the base, middle third, apex, medial, and latero-lateral regions. Afterward, six additional punctures were performed bilaterally in the areas more lateral to the base, middle third, and apex regions, yielding a total of 16-core biopsy specimens. The detection rate of carcinoma in the initial 10-core specimens was compared with that in the 12- and 16-core specimens. RESULTS: No significant differences in the cancer detection rate were found between the three biopsy protocols. PCa was found in 102 patients (29.06%) using the 10-core protocol, in 99 patients (28.21%) using the 12-core protocol, and in 107 patients (30.48%) using the 16-core protocol (p=0.798). The 10-, 12-, and 16-core protocols were compared with stratified PSA levels, stratified prostate volumes, Gleason scores, and detection rates of HGPIN and ASAP; no significant differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer positivity with the 10-core protocol was not significantly different from that with the 12- and 16-core protocols, which indicates that the 10-core protocol is acceptable for performing a first biopsy.
Adult ; Aged ; Cell Proliferation ; Endosonography/*methods ; Equipment Design ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Image-Guided Biopsy/*instrumentation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate/metabolism/pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/metabolism ; Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia/metabolism/*pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms/metabolism/*pathology ; Rectum ; Reproducibility of Results