#HealthyPeachy Ultrasound contrast agents may help identify uterine disorders and prostate cancers

Ultrasound contrast agents show promise for detecting and evaluating uterine disorders and prostate cancers, scientists reported today at the annual Advances in Contrast Ultrasound conference in Chicago.

Ultrasound contrast agents are generally used to evaluate tumors and organ systems throughout the body, including the heart, liver, kidneys and bowel, according to the International Contrast Ultrasound Society.

Dr. Massimo Mischi, a professor of signal processing at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, who spoke at the conference, said he uses ultrasound contrast agents with artificial intelligence and advanced imaging techniques known as contrast enhanced ultrasound dispersion imaging (CUDI) to produce 3D and 4D data sets that are as good as MRI imaging.

Studies of uterine disorders extend the team’s prior work using ultrasound contrast agents and CUDI to detect and evaluate prostate cancer.

This work focuses on angiogenesis, the growth of micro blood vessels towards and through a tumor in response to the tumor’s need for more oxygen and nutrients, according to Dr. Hessel Wijkstra, who also is a professor of signal processing at Eindhoven University of Technology and spoke at the conference.

“This technology is relatively cheap, automated and not operator dependent,” he said in a presentation at the conference.

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The International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) is a nonprofit medical society dedicated to advancing the safe and medically appropriate use of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to improve patient care globally. Membership in ICUS is free of charge and there is no fee for ICUS CME-accredited educational programs, newsletters or other resources.

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