Use of a handheld system for interventional ultrasound with puncture and biopsy in an in vitro liver model
Issue title: Selected articles of the 42th Conference of the German Society for Clinical Microcirculation and Hemorheology, 15–16 November 2024, Senftenberg, Germany
Affiliations: [a] Clinic and Polyclinic for Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| [b]
Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Interdisciplinary Ultrasound, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| [c] MVZ Dr. Vehling-Kaiser GmbH, Landshut, Germany
| [d] Clinic and Polyclinic for Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Dr. Ulrich Kaiser, University Hospital Regensburg, Clinic and Polyclinic for Internal Medicine III, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. E-mail: ulrich.kaiser@ukr.de.
Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Ultrasound-guided interventions (such as biopsies) of unclear lesions are indicated if microcirculatory changes indicate possible malignant lesions. These place high demands on the ultrasound device used. In order to potentially reduce the often associated high technical effort, the wireless ultrasound device Vscan AirTM was examined as a possible ultrasound device for the intervention biopsy. METHODS:As part of an advanced training course on Computertomographie- and ultrasound-guided biopsy and ablation procedures, participants were asked about the image quality of the handheld device used by means of questionnaires. Various lesions were evaluated at a depth of 1.0 to 5.0 cm in an in vitro liver model. The image quality was evaluated independently before, during and after the intervention. The rating scale contained values from 0 (no assessment possible) to 5 (maximum high image quality). A high-end device was used as a reference. RESULTS:A total of 11 participants took part in the study (n = 4 male [36.4%], n = 7 female [63.6%]). A total of five tumor like lesions at different depths (1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, >4 cm) were assessed separately. In all cases, an adequate biopsy of the target lesion (1 cm in length, core filling 5 mm) was successful. From a depth of 3 cm, the image quality of the mobile device increasingly decreased, but the image quality of the high-end system was still not impaired. Compared to the high-end device, there was a highly significant difference in image quality from a depth of 3 cm (p < 0.01). Assessment by inexperienced examiners using a handheld device was adequately possible. CONCLUSIONS:Mobile interventional ultrasound represents a potential alternative for the biopsy of unclear tumorous lesions with microcirculatory disorders with limited depth localization.
Keywords: Ultrasound, mobile ultrasound, high end ultrasound, in vitro model, tumor diagnostics, ultrasound interventions
