Ultrasound Guided Needle Aspiration versus Surgical Drainage in the management of breast Abscesses: A Ugandan experience

Despite breast abscess becoming less common in developed countries, it has remained one of the leading causes of morbidity in women in developing countries. A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at Mulago hospital complex in Kampala Uganda to establish whether ultrasound guided needle aspiration is a feasible alternative treatment option for breast abscesses.
Results

A total of 65 females with breast abscess were analyzed, of these 33 patients were randomized into the ultrasound guided needle aspiration and 32 patients in the Incision and drainage arm. The mean age was 23.12, most of them were lactating (66.2%), primipararous (44.6%) with peripheral abscesses (73.8%) located in the upper lateral quadrant (56%).The mean breast size was 3.49 cm. The two groups were comparably in demographic characteristic and breast abscess size. Survival analysis showed no difference in breast abscess healing rate between the two groups (Log rank 0.24 df 1 and P = 0.63). Incision and drainage was found to be more costly than ultrasound guided aspiration (cost effective ratio of 2.85).
Conclusion

Ultrasound guided needle aspiration is therefore a feasible and cost effective treatment option for both lactating and non lactating breast abscesses with a diameter up to 5 cm by ultrasound in an immune competent patiet,

source: BioMed Central (open access)

SonoCine Automated Whole Breast Cancer Screening System Receives Approval from Health Canada

RENO, Nev., Jan 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SonoCine, Inc., the leading innovator of automated whole breast ultrasound (AWBU) screening systems for early detection of breast cancer, announced today that it has been granted a Class 2 Medical Device License by the Medical Devices Bureau of Health Canada to sell and market its Automated Whole Breast Acquisition Screening System (AWBASS) as an adjunct to mammography for screening asymptomatic women for breast cancer.

The SonoCine AWBASS is an accessory to already approved ultrasound scanners, providing computer controlled automatic acquisition and subsequent dynamic review of closely spaced consecutive 2D images of the entire breast and lower axilla. The integration of SonoCine AWBASS and a standard ultrasound scanner forms an Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound (AWBU) screening system.

The SonoCine system received FDA 510(k) clearance in the U.S. in 2008 as an adjunct to mammography, but not a replacement for screening mammography, and in 2010 the results of the first breast cancer screening trial were published in the peer reviewed medical journal, European Radiology.

source: SonoCine

FDA Clears Siemens’ New ACUSON SC2000 Ultrasound System, Release 2.0

Malvern, Pa., January 11, 2012– Siemens Healthcare has announced that Release 2.0 of the ACUSON SC2000™ volume imaging ultrasound system has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is now commercially available in the United States. This latest version of the ACUSON SC2000 system – Siemens’ pioneering premier echocardiography system – elevates volume imaging in echocardiography to a new level, delivering significant performance and imaging enhancements to improve workflow and patient outcomes. Release 2.0 offers a host of new applications, including the quantification of the 3D proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) to assess the severity of valvular disease and volumetric color Doppler. Other applications include a comprehensive package for automated left ventricle analysis (LVA), which enables the auto-detection and tracking of volume contours, and Siemens’ exclusive IN Focus coherent image-forming technology, which yields a high level of image uniformity and clinical detail. Release 2.0 supports volumetric intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), enabling integration of the ACUSON AcuNav™ ultrasound catheters.

Through the advanced volume analysis application known as eSie PISA™ – an industry first from Siemens – the user of the ACUSON SC2000 system can obtain semi-automatic quantification of the PISA from 4D color Doppler data. This quantification enables the clinician to eliminate the current practice of 2D PISA assumptions and improve measurement accuracy by using volumetric color analysis for valvular regurgitation, which affects millions of people worldwide.

source: Siemens

Remote Lung Ultrasound through iPhone and Skype

Studies have indicated that at least two common life threatening conditons, Apnea (APN) and pneumothorax (PTX), can be reliably identified through use of ultrassound and an iphone. Both APN and PTX may be ruled out by visualizing respiratory motion at the visceral-parietal pleural interface known as lung sliding (LS), corroborated by either the M-mode or color-power Doppler depiction of LS.

In the study ultrasound images were obtained through a handheld unit and streamed through Skype to an iphone. Remote expert sonographers then directed remote providers to obtain images by viewing the transmitted ultrasound signal and consulting with the remote examiner over a head-mounted webcam. Examinations were conducted between a series of remote sites (among them a number of mountain locations and a small moving plane) and a fixed base station.

The results obtained demonstrated that in all lung fields on all occasions LS could easily and quickly ne identified.

NCBI abstract

Unisyn Now Repairing Logiq(R) E9 Ultrasound Transducers

GOLDEN, Colo., Jan 10, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Unisyn Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of sustainable solutions to the diagnostic imaging industry, today announced it has the capability to repair and test select Logiq(R) E9 ultrasound transducers manufactured by GE. Unisyn is the only probe repair company that offers proprietary FirstCall(TM) testing and verification capabilities on Logic E9 ultrasound transducers.

Rebecca Whitney, Unisyn's Chief Marketing Officer, commented, "We are excited to add this important new offering to our portfolio of high-quality probe repair and exchange. Our ability to provide proprietary FirstCall repair and testing capabilities on Logic E9 ultrasound transducers allows us to confidently diagnose, repair, and test these probes, which ensures that we deliver high-quality probe repair to our customers."

Unisyn provides Biomedical and Clinical Engineers with high quality and comprehensive ultrasound probe repair and exchange at an economic value.

source: MarketWatch

EAE/ASE 3D echocardiography image acquisition recommendations

Philadelphia, PA, January 3 – For the first time, a joint committee of the European Association for Echocardiography and the American Society of Echocardiography have issued recommendations on image acquisition using three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE). 'The EAE/ASE Recommendations for Image Acquisition and Display Using Three-Dimensional Echocardiography', are available in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE), published by Elsevier.

The recommendations are a practical guide on how to acquire, analyze, and display the various cardiac structures using 3DE, and discuss the advantages and limitations of this technique. The document also describes current and potential clinical applications of 3DE and its specific strengths and weaknesses in each scenario. The same issue of JASE includes articles that explore novel applications of 3DE and illustrate the clinical relevance of this technique.

source: EurekAlert