has also been found to be useful in the objective analysis and confirmation of the existence of the symptom of pain.
The diagnostic imaging center is just one of many departments housed in the 16-storey building of the Trauma Center and Orthopedic hospital (CTO) which dominates the skyline of Turin, Italy.
pathologies are being carried out in the department. These include:
OPTIMAL PRESENTATION OF US IMAGES OF MUSCLES AND TENDONS
The aim of this project is the optimiza- tion of the codification of ultrasound examinations of muscles and tendons. This project is based on the possibil- ity of selectively applying various types of software, each of which has been specifically designed to enhance the quality and panoramic presentation of the images which have been produced for the study of the structures under investigation. The ultimate objective of this research is to provide an optimal description of the pathologies that have been detected so that the specialists who requested the examinations in the first place can easily understand and cor- rectly interpret the information.
PW COLOR DOPPLER
The objective of this project is to opti- mize the use of Pulsed Wave Color Dop- pler (PWCD) analysis for the evalua- tion of the vascular processes in both normal physiological conditions and in the microangiogenic phases which accompany the phenomenon of reactive granulation of lesions. This approach has been proven to be of particular importance in the evaluation and dif- ferentiation between inflammatory and degenerative alterations in lesions. It
APRIL/MAY 2012
CONTRAST ENHANCED ULTRASOUND (CEUS) The use of contrast medium in US has been proven to be an extremely useful diagnostic tool for the sensitive analysis of microangiogenesis, which is a funda- mental diagnostic element both in inflam- matory and degenerative pathologies, in particular in the field of oncology. Our department has focussed on this sector in particular and has been able to achieve high standards of diagnostic capacity, both in terms of sensibility and specificity. Of course, the “know-how” and exper-
tise that our department has acquired in the management of more than 500 soft- tissue tumors, whose malignant/benign status has been confirmed by histology, has been of vital help in this area of research. CEUS has also proven to be of value
in the field of rheumatology where it has been used to determine the activity level of the inflammatory processes in the synovial walls of various joints. Such analysis has been carried out both in the acute phase and in terms of response to biological therapy.
ULTRASOUND-GUIDED INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY
This is yet another promising sector that has been developed in the field of US. For example, it has proven to be extremely useful both for infiltrations and/or US- guided biopsy procedures. Other appli- cations are specific treatment regimens such as ultrasound-guided percutaneous
Ultrasound guided interventional radiology, such as the taking US-guided biopsies is another active field of the application of the ultrasound principle.
washing therapy for calcification or the treatment with platelet lysate of both traumatic and degenerative tendons and muscular lesions.
FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
The above is just a brief glimpse of some of the activities being carried out in our department. Although of course these projects vary considerably from one to another, together they nevertheless illus- trate how the fundamental US concept is constantly evolving: the number of diag- nostic/therapeutic applications of US is constantly increasing and diversifying. The future of the technique is likely to
be based on further technological devel- opment which will enable an increased sensitivity and broader applications. The challenge for the radiologist will
be to successfully incorporate the vari- ous US applications into an integrated ensemble of diagnostic imaging tech- niques whose overall objective is the enhancement of diagnostic capability. If the radiologist is to meet these
requirements, not only must the US applications themselves be of high quality but
the radiologist must also
be supported by specific tutoring and help from expert clinical groups and the R&D departments of ultrasound instru- ment manufacturers.
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) techniques are particularly useful for the evaluation of microangiogen- esis, valuable diagnostic element in the field of oncology
DI EUROPE
For further information on the Turin CTO and the research projects being carried out in the diagnostic imag- ing department, please contact Prof C. Faletti (email :
falettic@atlink.it)
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