OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to define the rates and determinants of progression of organic mitral regurgitation (MR). BACKGROUND: Severe MR has major clinical consequences, but the rates and determinants of progression of the degree of regurgitation are unknown. Quantitative Doppler echocardiographic methods allow the quantitation of regurgitant volume (RVol), ...

The aim of this study was to determine if power Doppler ultrasonography, contrast enhanced when necessary, can be used as an alternative to computed tomography in the diagnosis of trauma-related organ rupture or hematoma. Fifteen patients who had sustained abdominal trauma but who had normal results on B-mode scans were ...

Because of the slow flow in the venous spaces of large-vessel hemangiomas, demonstration of color flow signals with conventional color Doppler or power Doppler sonography may be difficult. We report the case of a 22-year-old female patient with a soft tissue tumor containing multiple fluid-filled spaces in the right supraclavicular ...

Transcranial sonography is an ultrasonographic application with real problems of insufficient signal to noise ratio, which make it a primary candidate for applying ultrasonographic contrast enhancing agents. Within an international randomized multicenter phase II/III study, we investigated ten patients with insufficient Doppler signal retrieval using transcranial and extracranial color-coded duplex ...

Ultrasound-Doppler assessment of diastolic function is subject to velocity errors caused by angle sensitivity and a fixed location of the sample volume. We used 3-dimensional phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate these errors in 10 patients with hypertension and in 10 healthy volunteers. The single (Doppler) and triple ...

Neonatal sinus thrombosis is a rare occurrence in sick neonates. Because of its nonspecific manifestations, the incidence is underestimated. This disease may not be demonstrated by conventional color Doppler and is diagnosed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The authors report a neonate with neonatal sinus thrombosis diagnosed by ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of using an ultrasound contrast agent (levovist) to enhance the color Doppler imaging of liver neoplasms. Thirty patients with hepatic tumors were enrolled in this study. After intravenous administration of levovist, the color Doppler signals of normal hepatic vessels were ...

In this study constitutive and facultative colorimetric values were quantified to determine the physiologic changes in Caucasian skin color and to define the correlation between skin color and phototype assessed according to the Fitzpatrick method. Our population consisted of 401 subjects ranging in age from 24 to 28 years with ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the power Doppler findings of septic arthritis and noninfectious synovitis in an animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The right knees of 10 rabbits were inoculated with an aqueous suspension of Staphylococcus aureus. The right knees of 5 rabbits were injected with talc suspension. The right knees of ...

OBJECTIVE: A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the use of color Doppler ultrasound in the investigation of female urinary incontinence. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients underwent a full urodynamic assessment and translabial ultrasound examination using color Doppler-capable equipment with 5-7-MHz curved array transducers, both in the supine and in the erect ...

BACKGROUND: To obtain more information about microcirculatory disturbances in venous ulcers, we studied their laser Doppler flux images and capillary densities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: On photographs of venous ulcers and the adjacent skin of 17 patients, four regions of interest were marked: one non-granulation tissue area (NGTA) within the venous ...

OBJECTIVE: Involvement of renal vessels and the inferior vena cava (IVC) plays a decisive role during operative planning for removal of abdominal masses in pediatric patients. Advantages and limitations of MR angiography and color Doppler sonography for determining these factors were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR angiography and color Doppler ...

We present the medical imaging results and clinical data of four pancreatitis cases with gastrointestinal bleeding due to rupture of a pseudoaneurysm to determine in which situations a rupture should be suspected. Our observations suggest that the possibility of such a rupture must be kept in mind when encountering not ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to develop a semiquantitative index of mitral regurgitation severity suitable for use in daily clinical practice and research. BACKGROUND: There is no simple method for quantification of mitral regurgitation (MR). The MR Index is a semiquantitative guide to MR severity. The MR Index ...

Local anesthetics inhibit edema and improve circulation in experimental burns. We evaluated the effect of topical local anesthetics on human skin burns in volunteers using computerized color analysis that allowed repeated noninvasive quantitative measurements. A standardized partial-thickness burn (1 cm2) was induced in one forearm of 10 healthy volunteers and ...

Myors (1998) showed how to combine familiar video page switching with bit-plane layering in video mode 0dh to increase the capacity of the PC tachistoscope from 8 to 32 pages. The present article shows how to combine video page switching with color page switching to implement a 240-page tachistoscope, thus ...

OBJECTIVE: Serial Doppler ultrasonography and long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up outcomes were evaluated prospectively in neonates whose right common carotid artery (RCCA) was reconstructed after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). METHODS: Children with RCCA reconstruction (n = 34) were monitored for 3.5 to 4.5 years by Doppler ultrasonography for arterial patency, and 28 ...

Echocontrast agents (ECA) are known to improve transcranial color-coded duplex (TCCD) imaging, but its diagnostic benefit in the routine clinical setting has not clearly been defined. The authors investigated the diagnostic benefit of ECA application in 54 patients with insufficient transtemporal bone window, consecutively referred to their ultrasound laboratory. According ...

Color Doppler images of aortic regurgitation (AR) flow acceleration, flow convergence (FC), and the vena contracta (VC) have been reported to be useful for evaluating severity of AR. However, clinical application of these methods has been limited because of the difficulty in clearly imaging the FC and VC. This study ...

Extracardiac ventriculopulmonary conduits tend to deteriorate over time, developing both obstruction and regurgitation. In this prospective study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was compared with Doppler echocardiography to determine whether MRI improves the noninvasive evaluation of conduit patients. Twenty-five patients (median age 10 years, range 2.5 to 32) were investigated 27 ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility of imaging crossing vessels at the ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) preoperatively by means of contrast agent-enhanced color Doppler imaging (CDI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients (13 female patients, 16 male patients; age range, 17-76 years; mean age, 45 years) with symptomatic UPJ obstruction were examined with ...

This paper reports on the association between renal sinus hyperechogenicity and acute pyelonephritis. The medical records and imaging studies of 18 children displaying this pattern were retrospectively studied. Thickening of the renal pelvis and renal enlargement were the most frequent associated sonographic abnormalities. Further subtle findings can be found on ...

Pulmonary venous flow (PVF) reversal is observed in mitral regurgitation (MR) and can be detected by Doppler echocardiography. However, the determinants of PVF alterations in MR have not been analyzed with simultaneous quantitative methods, and the diagnostic accuracy of flow reversal is uncertain. Prospectively, in 128 patients with isolated MR ...

PURPOSE: To see whether stimulated acoustic emission (SAE) in the liver parenchyma in the late phase of enhancement with SH U 508A increases the conspicuity of occult metastases at ultrasonography (US). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen patients with known hypo- or hypervascular hepatic metastases underwent US after SH U 508A administration, ...

To identify the transthoracic echo-Doppler (TTE) variables most predictive of significant mitral regurgitation (MR) of mechanical prosthetic valves, TTE and trans-esophageal echo (TEE) studies were independently reviewed in 57 patients (mean age [+/-SD] 59+/-12.5 years) undergoing both studies within 2+/-3 days. Several 2-dimensional and Doppler hemodynamic variables from the TTE ...

We hypothesize that a simplified version of the Euler equation (SEE) utilizing differences in velocity over a distance and time as obtained by Color Doppler M-mode (CMM) echocardiography can approximate actual peak transmitral pressure gradients deltaP(TM). Methods: In 14 patients undergoing open-heart surgery, deltaP(TM) was measured under various hemodynamic conditions ...

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that ultrasonography could replace diagnostic arteriography in the assessment of patients who present with leg ischaemia. This study investigated a group of consecutive patients who had femorodistal bypass and who were assessed before operation with colour-coded duplex and dependent Doppler insonation alone. METHODS: Thirty-seven consecutive ...

This paper presents a new moment-preserving thresholding technique, called the binary quaternion-moment-preserving (BQMP) thresholding, for color image data. Based on representing color data by the quaternions, the statistical parameters of color data can be expressed through the definition of quaternion moments. Analytical formulas of the BQMP thresholding can thus be ...

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to determine whether the central velocity of the left ventricular outflow tract represents the mean velocity of the total outflow area. METHODS: Thirteen healthy men (mean age, 30 +/- 6 years) and nine patients with aortic valve disease (seven with aortic regurgitation and ...

Power Doppler Imaging (PDI) is a promising new sonographic technique for evaluating the vascular system. PDI uses special processing to display the amplitude or strength of the Doppler signal, rather than velocity and directional information as in conventional color Doppler. This allows a much greater sensitivity in detecting small vessels ...

Simultaneous detection of two different antigens on paraffin-embedded and frozen tissues can be accomplished by double immunohistochemistry. However, many double chromogen systems suffer from signal overlap, precluding definite signal quantification. To separate and quantitatively analyze the different chromogens, we imported images into a Macintosh computer using a CCD camera attached ...

Device and image-independent color space transformations for the compression of CMYK images were studied. A new transformation (to a YYCC color space) was developed and compared to known ones. Several tests were conducted leading to interesting conclusions. Among them, color transformations are not always advantageous over independent compression of CMYK ...

PURPOSE: To alert ophthalmologists to the use of Ishihara color plates in the detection of simultanagnosia. METHODS: We examined seven patients referred for impaired vision. Evaluation included color plate testing with Ishihara color plates. RESULTS: All seven patients had simultanagnosia, with marked difficulty in identifying the numbers in Ishihara color ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether cord insertion can be consistently visualized and whether velamentous cord insertion and vasa previa can be consistently identified with color Doppler imaging during routine sonography in the mid-trimester. DESIGN: A prospective study. SUBJECTS: A total of 587 fetuses at 18-20 weeks' gestation. METHODS: During routine ultrasound ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if tissue harmonic imaging (THI) sonography produced higher quality images than did conventional sonography. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A prospective study was performed on 89 patients to compare the image quality of THI sonography with that of conventional sonography. Each examination was ...

A knowledge of mirror image artifacts in color-coded duplex sonography is important as they can lead to diagnostic problems in the morphologic evaluation of stenoses and plaques. Mirror image artifacts were detectable in stenosed vessels when strongly reflecting plaques on the wall of the vessel distant from the transducer head ...

Two cases of incidentally detected aneurysms involving the portal venous system are described with emphasis on gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonographic (US) findings. Appearing on US as anechoic masses showing direct luminal continuity with the right portal vein and superior mesenteric vein, the lesions displayed spectral findings characteristic of portal ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the ability of contrast agent-enhanced color Doppler ultrasonography (US) in evaluating the response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-two patients (36 men, six women; age range, 51-79 years) with 54 1.3-7.0-cm-diameter (mean +/- SD, 2.8 cm +/- 1.1) HCC lesions ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of power doppler ultrasonography in depicting increased vasculature and hyperemia around the superficial soft tissue abscess. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 21 patients with soft tissue abscess were evaluated with gray scale imaging, color doppler sonography, power doppler sonography and computed tomography. In each case attempts were ...

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) using color Doppler flow mapping can accurately measure residual mitral regurgitation (MR), but it is unknown to what extent such measurements correlate with those obtained with postoperative transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). METHODS: We used intraoperative TEE (based on direct planimetry of the maximal regurgitant jet area) ...

Focal nodular hyperplasias (FNH) are hypervascular, benign focal liver lesions. Differentiation of FNH from other focal liver lesions is of clinical importance. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a new, transpulmonary echo-enhancing agent SHU 508A (Levovist) and recent Doppler techniques in the sonographic evaluation of ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Differential considerations for pineal region CSF collections include both true cysts and normal cystlike anatomic variations. Our purpose was to determine the sonographic characteristics of pineal region fluid spaces that reflect the presence of a normal persistent cavum velum interpositum (CVI). METHODS: Eighteen neonates and infants who ...

Percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) is a new technique for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is difficult to distinguish those lesions in which necrosis has been induced from the viable residual lesions during the procedure, because the margin of the tumor becomes unclear during PMCT. We determined ...

We applied a new technique of three-dimensional (3-D) transcranial power Doppler imaging to demonstrate the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the 2 stroke patients. In the first patient, the 3-D power Doppler study clearly showed the horizontal portion, bifurcation, proximal portion of the upper and lower trunks, and the major ...

PURPOSE: Assessment of the accuracy of SH U 508 A (Levovist) enhanced Doppler sonography in the evaluation of blood flow abnormalities in the portal vascular system. METHOD: In an open label, controlled, prospective multicenter study, patients referred for Doppler sonography of the portal vascular system were randomized to receive SH ...

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The authors compare the magnetic resonance (MR) phase contrast flow velocity measurements in varying concentric stenoses with invasive measurements obtained with a Doppler guidewire. METHODS: Flow velocity measurements were obtained using a calibrated 0.018 inch 12 MHz Doppler guidewire and a 1.0 T MR imaging system in ...

BACKGROUND: Spectral Doppler ultrasound, an important diagnostic tool for the functional assessment of various organs, as yet has no major use in prenatal diagnosis due to the conventional technique's limitation of analyzing only one site at a time. Our aim was to develop a new modality that shows simultaneous studies ...

Classification of pediatric scrotal disorders into three typical clinical manifestations--acute scrotal disorders, scrotal masses, and cryptorchidism--provides a practical basis for evaluation with the most commonly used modalities--sonography, scintigraphy, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Acute scrotal disorders of children include acute epididymitis, torsion of an appendix testis or appendix epididymis, and ...

Clearly, both echocardiography and MRI play vital roles in the diagnosis and management of children with congenital heart defects. 2-D Doppler echocardiography is very easy to use in a vast array of clinical situations. The accuracy of the anatomic and hemodynamic findings are well accepted. In comparative studies, 2-D Doppler ...

Color Doppler sonography is an important modality in the non-invasive evaluation of the liver. It is commonly used to evaluate vascular changes which accompany cirrhosis. Doppler techniques are also used to evaluate patients who have undergone liver transplantation or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement. This review describes the various ...