Objective To quantitatively assess the neovascularization within human carotid atheroclerltic soft plaque in patients with cerebral infarction using real-time contrast-enhanced uhrasonography. Methods One hundred and forty-two patients with carotid athemselerotic soft plaque were divided into two groups: cerebral infarction group (n = 44)and control group (n = 98).Real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasonography was examined. Acoustics quantitative analysis was made by auto-tracking contrast quantification (ACQ)technology. Results The enhanced intensity (EI)in cerebral infarction group was significandy higher than that in control group[(14.58±4.19)dB vs (11.26±3.77)dB, P< 0.01]. The difference of arrival time (DAT)and the difference of time to peak (DTrP)in cerebral infarction group was significantly shorter than those in control group [(2.21±0.42)s vs (2.46±0.51)s,(2.13 + 0.37)s vs (2.43±0.48)s, P all < 0.01]. Conclusions The real-time contrast-enhanced uhrasonography can provide a new non-invasire and quantitative tool to assess the neovascularizafion within carotid atheroselerofic soft plaque. EI is re-garded as an independent risk factor correhtes strongly with cerebral infarction.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation combined with absolute ethanol injection in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to study the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the evaluation of therapeutic effect.Methods From May 2015 to May 2017, 60 patients with liver cancer (72 lesions) were treated in our hospital.The patients were divided into 3 groups, the RFA treatment group (n=20), 24 lesions, the PEI treatment group (n=20), 22 lesions, and the RFA+PEI treatment group (n=20) with26 lesions.3 groups of patients were treated with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), routine color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS), enhanced CT to evaluate the specific situation of the tumor, and evaluate the therapeutic effect again after operation.The rates of necrosis, lesion inactivation and residue were evaluated in each group.Results The necrosis rate of RFA group, PEI group and RFA+PEI group were66.67%,81.82% and 96.15%, respectively.The necrosis rate of CT group was the highest, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) in RFA+PEI group.Comparison of different imaging to assess the sensitivity and specificity of CDUS, to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity were 81.36% and 53.85%;CEUS to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity were 98.31% and 84.62%, significant difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).Conclusion RFA+PEI treatment program is better than RFA and PEI alone treatment, the treatment effect is better, CEUS in the evaluation of RFA+PEI treatment effect, has higher clinical value.

Objective To explore the relationship between pulse pressure and aortic relative pulse wave velocity in the patients with hypertension by Doppler tissue imaging.Methods Velocities of abdominal aortic wall motion were measured in ninety one patients with essential hypertension.Electro mechanical time(EMT),pre ejection period (PEP) and the patient height(H) were measured and recorded respectively,and pulse wave time (PWT) was defined as EMT-PEP and relative pulse wave velocity (RPWV) as H/PWT.Results RPWV in the patients with pulse pressure ≥60 mm Hg ( 1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) was significantly greater than that of the patients with pulse pressure

Objective To determine staging accuracy of double contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCUS)after neoadjuvant chemotherapy,and to evaluate effect during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced gastric carcinoma(AGC).Methods A total of 29 patients with AGC diagnosed by endoscopy were examined and staged using ultrasound after taking oral contrast agent and bolus injection of SonoVue (DCUS)pre-and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy.T-stage accuracy of post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy and pathological T status of postoperative were compared.All of the subjects were divided into two groups according to RECIST(Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors):chemotherapy benefit group(22cases,including:complete response 0 cases.partial response 14 cases,stable disease 8 cases)and progressive group(7 cases).The findings of DCUS of AGC tissues were assessed by auto-tracking contrast quantification(ACQ)software.The baseline intensity(BI)and peak intensity(PI)of gastric carcinoma tissues were measured automatically,and the enhanced intensity(EI)of gastric carcinoma tissues was calculated manually(EI =PI-BI).The quantitative analysis findings of DCUS of each patient pre-and postneoadjuvant chemotherapy between two groups were compared adopting repeated measures method.Results The overall accuracy of T staging in AGC patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were 65.52％ by DCUS,and 0,42.86％and 92.86％respectively for T2 stage,T3 stage and T4 stage.The agreement of this method was weak between T-stage accuracy post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy and pathological T status of postoperative.The Kappa value was 0.33.The difference value of PI and EI between pre-and postneoadjuvant chemotherapy in AGC patients for benefit group was more than that in progressive group.The main effect of BI in AGC tissues between pre-and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy was no significant difference between two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusions Restaging by DCUS after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in AGC patients was found to be inaccurate.However,the difference value of PI and EI between pre-and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy in AGC tissues for benefit group was more than that in progressive group.Thus,the value of PI and EI by ICUS may be a useful clinical parameter with which to evaluate the effect during neoadjuvant chemotherapy and guide therapeutic regimen for AGC patients.

Objective To determine whether low frequency ultrasound mediated microbubbles destruction (UMMD) could inhibit VX2 orthotopic hepatic tumor growth in rabbit models.Methods Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were implanted with VX2 tumor in left hepatic lobe to establish a homograft rabbit model of liver neoplasms in situ,which were randomly divided into four groups(6 rabbits in each group):group A (intravenous saline only),group B (intravenous microbubbles only),group C (intravenous saline+ low frequency focused ultrasound exposure),and group D (intravenous microbubbles+low frequency focused ultrasound exposure).After 3 days consecutive treatment,tumor volume(TV),and peak intensity (PI) were monitored by conventional ultrasound and contrast enhanced ultrasound(CEUS) on 0,1,7,14 and 21 days after treatment.The rabbits were euthanized at the end of the experiment.Tumor tissues were evaluated by HE stain.Results The parameters of TV and PI of each tumor had no significant difference among four groups before treatment(all P>0.05).TV had no significant difference among four groups on 1 day after treatment(all P>0.05);PI in group C and group D were significantly lower than those in group A and group B (all P<0.05).TV and PI in group D were significantly smaller than those in other groups on 7,14,21 days after treatment(all P<0.05).There was no statistical difference in TV and PI among group A,group B and group C(all P>0.05).The pathological changes of necrosis tissue,hemorrhagic damage of microvessel and thrombosis were observed in the tumors of group D only,whereas these changes occurred rarely in other groups.Conclusions UMMD can inhibit the growth of VX2 hepatic tumors in rabbits,and be used as a promising novel therapeutic strategy to liver neoplasms.

Objective To evaluate eutopic endometrial blood supply and vessels in patients with endometriosis(EMs) with contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS),to explore a newmethod to estimate vascularization of eutopic endometrium in EMs patients.MethodsThirty patients with EMs were enrolled and 20 patients who were diagnosed as other gynecological diseases as control.Informed consent of each case was obtained. AllcasesunderwentconventionalultrasoundexaminationandCEUSexamination.Characteristics of CEUS in each patients were observed and analyzed using off-line Qontrast software.Parameters of CEUS including peak intensity(PEAK),time to peak(TTP),regional blood volume(RBV),regional blood flow(RBF) were obtained automatically.ResultsComparing with control group,the eutopic endometrium in EMs group presented higher enhancement.The parameters of CEUS,including PEAK,TTP,RBV,RBF were (41.18 ± 3.29) dB,(29.01 ± 4.46) s,(29.07 ± 4.59) ml,(48.61 ± 5.35) ml/min in EMs group and (13.36 ± 2.34)dB,(24.59 ± 2.29)s,(26.51 ±- 3.80)ml,(48.71 ± 3.80)ml/min in controls respectively,the value of PEAK in EMs group was higher than that of controls ( P =0.000).Conclusions CEUS can be regarded as a new method which can be used to assess vascularization of eutopic endometrium in endometriosis.

Objective To assess the correlation between the shear wave velocity(SWV) and the ratio of type Ⅰ /type Ⅲ collagen fibers in plaques using virtual touch tissue imaging quantification(VTIQ).Methods Fifty four patients (54 plaques) who scheduled to carotid endarterectomy(CEA) were enrolled in this study.Their carotid plaques were preoperatively examined using VTIQ.The value of SWE of each plaque was obtained.The SWV of the plaque was evaluated by VTIQ.The endarterectomy specimens were transferred to the pathological department immediately after surgery to evaluate the plaque types and the distribution of collagen fibers in plaques.According to HE staining,the 54 plaques were divided into stable and unstable group.Results Among 54 plaques,14 were stable plaque and 40 were unstable plaques.The thickness and stenosis rate had no significant difference between stable group and unstable group (both P ＞ 0.05).The mean value of SWV and the ratio of type Ⅰ/typeⅢ collagen fiber in stable plaques were higher than those in the unstable plaques (both P ＜0.05).Based on ROC analysis,a cut-off value of SWE of 3.725 m/s (AUC=0.936) showed a sensitivity of 92.9％,a specificity of 80.0％ and an accuracy of 83.3％ for predicting stable plaques (95％ CI 0.818-0.982,P ＜0.05).The value of SWVs was closely correlated to the ratio of type Ⅰ/typeⅢ collagen fiber in plaques(r =0.882,P ＜0.05).Conclusions SWV of the carotid atherosclerotic plaque can be used to reflect the ratio of the type Ⅰ/typeⅢ collagen fiber in the plaques,and to evaluate the stability of plaque.

Objective To explore the value of biomechanics parameter of rabbit abdominal aortic atheroma using velocity vector imaging(VVI).Methods Ten of 45 male New Zealand rabbits were chosen as normal control group randomly,the rest experimental rabbits were made atheromatous plaque model.The rabbits were examined by two-dimensional ultrasound and VVI respectively.The intima-media thickness(IMT) or thickness of plaques of abdominal aorta 1 cm from right renal artery branch were recorded.Maximum tangential velocity,strain and strain rate of IMT or plaques were measured using VVI.Then the rabbits were killed for pathological and immuno-histochemical examination.Results Based on pathology,the rabbites were divided into 4 groups:control group(group A,n=10),group of pathological endometrial thickening(group B,n=9),group of thick fibrous cap atheromatous plaques (group C,n=15) and group of thin fibrous cap atheromatous plaques (group D,n=11).The difference of plaques thickness and biochemical indicators had no statistically significant between group B and C(P>0.05),both bigger than group A and B (P<0.05).The difference of Vmax,Smax and SRmax had statistically significant each group(P<0.05).With Vmax>0.46×10-2 cm/s,Smax>0.37%,SRmax>1.415×10-2 s-1 to find the vulnerable plaques,the sensitivity were 75.0%,84.4%,84.4% respectively,specificity were 70.8%,91.7%,83.3% respectively.Conclusions VVI can identify plaque biomechanics parameter of different progression periods,which is expected to be a reliable method to find vulnerable plaques earlier in clinic.

Objective To explore the value of abdominal aorta strain reserve(SR) of rabbits during the period of early atherosclerosis using velocity vector imaging(VVI) techniques combined with nitroglycerin (NTG) vasodilation experiment.Methods Fifty-two male New Zealand White rabbits were used in this experiment.Group A(n=12) was the normal control group.Forty rabbits were made into atherosclerosis models.The SR of abdominal aortas of all rabbits were analyzed in short axis views using VVI and NTG vasodilation experiment at the forth week and the eighth week after feeding.The period of atherosclerosis into endothelial injury stage(group B) and intima thickening stage(group C) were divided.Results There were eighteen rabbits at the endothelial injury stage in group B and thirteen at the intima thickening stage in group C.Compared with control group,arterial SR values of group B and group C were significantly decreased in turn [4.13±1.21＞2.31±0.89＞1.22±0.77,Z=-2.978,P=0.003;Z=1.959,P=0.001],IMT of group C was significantly higher than that of group A(Z=-3.108,P=0.002),strain of group C was significantly lower than that of group A(Z=-2.415,P=0.016),the strain and IMT had no significant difference among three groups except group A and group C (P>0.05).A cut-off value was 3.67 of SR for diagnosing the endothelial injury aretary had a sensitivity of 70% and spectificity of 92.3% respectively obtained by the area under the ROC curve.The agreement of this diagnosis was very good.Conclusions The variable of the SR could stand for the variable of the vascular elasticity during the period of the early atherosclerosis.VVI and NTG vasodilation experiment could quantitatively assess SR of abdominal aortas of rabbits.

Objective To evaluate the value of ultrasound in diagnosing fetal adrenal cystic lesions. Methods Twenty one hospitalized fetuses with adrenal cystic lesions were retrospectively studied. All fetuses were followed up by ultrasound during neonatal period, and all lesions were finally confirmed by pathology after operation or ultrasound-guided biopsy. Results In 21 cases of fetal cystic lesions, the ultrasonic characteristics of 15 cases were anechoic and 6 cases were flake and mixed echoic. Nevertheless, the characteristics of these lesions were changed in neonatal period, 10 cases were presented anechoic and 11 cases were presented mixed echoic. The pathologic results: I0 cases were simple cysts, 5 cases were cysts with hemorrhage and the other 6 cases were spontaneous hemorrhage of adrenal glands. Conclusions The ultrasonic characteristics of adrenal cystic lesions in the stage of pregnancy can provide useful diagnostic information for clinic practice.