Objective To evaluate the diagnosis of proximal vas deferens and epididymis with contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in healthy adult canines. Methods Six healthy male adult dogs were dissected to expose unilateral vas deferens. CEUS was performed after injecting ultrasound contrast agents into vas deferens by catheter. X ray angiography was taken after injecting compound meglumine diatrizoate. The image features of CEUS and X ray angiography were displayed by CEUS. Results Under CEUS, inguinal segment of proximal vas deferens were straight and symmetrical in diameter, scrotal segment of vas deferens were tortuous,and the tail of epididymis were speckled which enhanced shaped as a comma. The inguinal and scrotal segment of vas deferens section was display well by X-ray angiography.Conclusions CEUS is a new method in proximal vas deferens and tail of epididymis examination. It can provide guidance for the disease diagnosis of seminal vesicle and ductal system.

Objective To explore the feasibility of extending liver blood perfusion cessation by ultrasound combining microbubbles.Methods The livers of 9 healthy rabbits were treated with a pulsed therapeutic ultrasound device,in presence of microbubbles.For quantification of liver perfusion,contrastenhanced ultrasonography was performed on 6 rabbits before treatment and at different time points of 0 min,30 min,60 min and 48 hours after treatment.Pathological examination of the treated livers was performed immediately after treatment on the other 3 rabbits.Results The liver blood perfusion almost vanished immediately after treatment,remained at a low perfusion level from 30 to 60 min,and completely recovered 48 hours later.The peak intensity dropped from ( - 51.88 ± 4.26)dB to ( - 62.53 ± 4.83)dB after treatment and rose up to ( - 52.00 ± 4.60) dB 48 hours later.The peak intensities before treatment and 48 hours after treatment were significantly higher than those of 0 min,30 min and 60 min time points after treatment( P ＜0.05).Pathological examination showed significant swelling of hepatocytes and hemorrhage around portal veins.Conclusions Microbubbles enhanced ultrasound can induce liver blood perfusion cessation for up to 1 hours.The mechanism could be swelling of hepatocytes and hemorrhage of portal track.

Objective To explore the effectiveness of different peak negative pressure ultrasound irradiated microbubble destruction on the control of rat blood brain barrier permeability.Methods Thirty healthy SD rats were divided into 5 groups according to different ultrasound pressure level (62 kPa,86 kPa, 1 81 kPa,324 kPa,708 kPa).After intravenous injection of microbubble,the rats were underwent ultrasonic irradiation for 9 minutes,and the contralateral hemispheres were served as controls.The permeability of blood brain barrier was determined by the quantitative analysis of Evans blue and lanthanum nitrate extravasation.Results Quantitative analysis results revealed a leakage in Evans blue about(4.52 ± 0.1 1 )μg/g and (10.56±0.13)μg/g in group 1 81 kPa and 708 kPa,respectively.A wide endothelial cell gap with lanthanum nitrate trace leaked out was shown at the group of ultrasound pressure of 1 81 kPa,and erythrocytes extravasations were found when ultrasound pressure at 708 kPa.Conclusions The pressure amplitude in microbubble enhanced cavitation can effectively regulate and control blood-brain barrier opening in rats.

Objective To explore the feasibility of establishing an acute pericardial effusion animal model guided by ultrasound. Methods Six experimental pigs were anesthetized. A PTC needle was injected and guided to the right ventricular anterior wall under real-time high frequency ultrasound,40 ml and 80 ml normal saline were respectively infused into the pericardial cavity within 5 minutes. Ultrasonography and pathologic examination were applied to confirm this porcine model. The amount of the fluid was estimated by ultrasound at 1 hour and 8 hours after infusion. Results With ultrasound guidance,the PTC needle smoothly entered the pericardial cavity and the saline was successfully injected. The fluid dispersed from local to the entire pericardial cavity. Pericardial effusion last within 8 hours and no significant change of the fluid amount was found (all P ＞0.05). This acute pericardial effusion model was successfully established with a rate of 100%. Conclusions It is feasible to establish an animal model of acute pericardial effusion under the guidance of ultrasound. This method is safe,rapid and effective. It can provide a suitable animal model for the study of acute pericardial effusion.

Objective To investigate the impact of ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction ( UTMD) combined with carboplatin sustained release microspheres on the temperature of the tumor microenvironment and the concentration of the drug release in target tumor . Methods Twenty tumor bearing rabbits were randomly assigned into 4 groups : the control group without any treatment ; the carboplatin-loaded PLGA microspheres (CPMs) group ,only intratumoral injection of carboplatin sustained-release microspheres ;the S2000 group ,diagnostic ultrasound irradiation using S2000 equipment on local chemotherapy tumor tissue combined with lipid microbubbles ;the AP-170 group ,the same treatment as the S2000 group except the application of AP-170 instead of S2000 . Far-infrared thermography was performed to measure the tumor temperature . The experimental equipment of extracorporeal circulation was set up . The experimental conditions were assigned into 4 groups :37℃ CPMs group ,37℃ S2000 group ,37℃ AP-170 group ,40℃ AP-170 group . After irradiation experiment ,the carboplatin absorbance was measured at 229 nm wavelength . The absorbance difference of each group was compared with the 37℃ CPMs group ,and each group was tested 10 times . Results The intratumorous temperature in AP-170 group increased to (40 .24 ± 0 .72) ℃ ,which was significantly different from all the other groups ( P ＜ 0 .01).The in vitro drug release experiment showed that the absorbance in the 40 ℃ AP-170 group was 0 .1537 ± 0 .0094 ,which was significantly different from other groups ( P ＜ 0 .01).Higher temperature promoted the release of chemotherapeutic drugs from carboplatin sustained-release microspheres , thus enhanced the chemotherapeutic effect .This might be the mechanism that UTMD affects the microenvironment in this experiment .Conclusions UTMD increases the permeability of tumor cells .The increase of temperature promotes more drugs into the microenvironment of tumor cells .Thus ,the local chemotherapeutic effect is enhanced in the tumor .

Objective To investigate the prevalence of thyroid nodules(TN)among centenarians in Hainan province and explore the association between thyroid nodules and major chronic diseases.Methods A mixed cross-sectional study of questionnaire survey,medical examination including ultrasonography and laboratory examination were conducted in elderly who resided in Hainan province and aged 100 and over,the subjects who have signed consent and complete data in both basic information and medical examination were included in this study.Eight hundred and four centenarians were finally enrolled and data of them was analyzed to investigate the prevalence of thyroid nodules and to explore its association with common chronic diseases by comparing the prevalence of chronic conditions between groups with and without thyroid nodules.Results The overall prevalence of TN was 73.5%(591、804)and the prevalence of TN was significantly higher in female when comparing with male[75.1%(505、672)vs 65.2%(86、132)](P <0.001).No significant correlation was found between the prevalence of TN and major chronic diseases (P>0.05),however,the factors associated with dyslipidemia and anemia such as TC[(4.6±1.2)mmol、L vs(4.3±1.5)mmol、L],LDL-C[(2.8±0.8)mmol、L vs(2.7±0.8)mmol、L],and Hb[(110.6±22.5)g、L vs(105.5±31.7)g、L]were significant higher in TN group than those in Non-TN group(P <0.05). Conclusions The thyroid nodule is common in centenarian population and its prevalence was higher in female than male.The associations between TN and biomarkers of dyslipidemia and anemia are found in the present study.

Objective:To explore the value of 5G-based robotic remote ultrasound diagnosis system in musculoskeletal joint injuries.Methods:From March to December 2020, 58 volunteers at a training base who felt musculoskeletal pain or paresthesia were selected and performed both robotic remote ultrasound (remote ultrasound group) and conventional ultrasound (portable ultrasound group). The two types of examinations were compared, the consistency of the two diagnosis results was analyzed by the Kappa test, and the the difference of the diagnosis results was compared by McNemar test.Results:Among the 58 volunteers, 40 cases were positive by both methods and 11 volunteers had 2-3 positive results. There were 59 positive results in the remote ultrasound group and 64 positive results in the portable ultrasound group. The positive rate of the examination sites from high to low was knee joint>foot and ankle joint >hand and wrist joint >shoulder joint>elbow joint, calf and hip. The diagnosis results of the two groups were in good consistency (Kappa=0.782, P<0.001), and there was no statistically significant difference in the diagnosis results between the two groups (χ 2=3.2, P=0.063). Five more diseases with positive results were detected in the portable ultrasound group: 1 meniscus injury, 1 medial collateral ligament injury, 1 soft tissue injury around the metatarsal, 1 biceps tendinitis with effusion and 1 cubital ulnar nerve subluxation. Conclusions:The 5G-based robotic remote ultrasound system has good consistency with conventional ultrasound in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal injures. It can be applied to the ultrasound diagnosis of musculoskeletal joint injuries in remote areas.

Objective: To study the correlation of lifestyle characteristics with thyroid nodules in a population-based sample of centenarians in Hainan. Methods: The study was based on China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study (CHCCS) conducted in 18 cities and counties in Hainan province from 2014 to 2016. A group of multidisciplinary team interviewed and examined local centenarians with structured questionnaires and ultrasonography procedures. A total of 918 centenarians were analyzed after excluding those who refused ultrasonographic examinations or had relevant missing data. Thyroids of centenarians were examined by 3-year experienced sonographer, details on lifestyle characteristics and dietary habits were collected by standard procedure. Results: Of the 918 centenarians, 683 (74.4%) had thyroid nodules under the ultrasonography procedures. The prevalence of thyroid nodules in different group of areca nut consumption varied significantly (P<0.05). In multivariate logistic regression model, the results showed female and areca nut intake were independently associated with thyroid nodules in centenarians (P<0.05). Conclusions The modifiable variables including areca nut intake as well as non-modifiable such as gender are independent determinants of thyroid nodules in centenarians. Further studies are warranted to explore and verify these associations in populations with different ranges of age.

This pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility of trans-oral ultrasonography of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in oblique sagittal plane. Six volunteers who were receiving residency training at Hainan Hospital of General Hospital of Chinese PLA were recruited into this study, five of them had normal TMJ and one had anterior displaced disc all of which had been confirmed by MRI. A hockey-stick-shaped ultrasound probe was placed between the cheek and maxilla to push against the mucosa lateral to posterior maxillary tuberosity, and every volunteer underwent bilateral scans. The sonographic imaging were completed successfully on the six volunteers; the condyle, the superior and the inferior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle, the disc and the maxillary vein were clearly identified in all the twelve ultrasonographic scans. The feasibility of trans-oral ultrasonography of TMJ in oblique sagittal plane was confirmed.