Learning objectives
To report the intraoral UHFUS application to the study of oral mucosa
To describe typical and atypical UHFUS appearance of oral soft tissues
To characterize the UHFUS features of the wide spectrum of oral soft tissue lesions
To assess the role of intraoral UHFUS in the identification and classification of oral diseases
Background
Conventional US has been seldom applied to the intraoral evaluation of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
[1-5] In literature,
frequencies up to 15 MHz were employed,
with different preoperative and intraoperative US scan protocols.
[6,
7] However,
conventional intraoral US has never been applied to the study ofother lesions affecting oral cavity besides oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Recently,
Ultra-High Frequency Ultrasound (UHFUS) has been introduced in several medical fields.
[8-13]
In our Institute,
Vevo® MD (VisualSonics,
Toronto,
Canada),
is available since 2016 and represents one of...
Findings and procedure details
Methods
We performed UHFUS on 108 patients presenting oral soft tissue lesions eligible for biopsy.
UHFUS scan was performed using a standardized preset and keeping the parameters constant.
Scan depth and focus position were adjusted to optimize the scan.
DICOM format images were processed using Horos software (https://horosproject.org/),
and converted into JPEG image format.
Grey level distribution was investigated using ImageJ software (https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/) and positioning a region of interest (ROI) inside the lesion.
The margins of the ROI were chosen by the operator to obtain...
Conclusion
Advantages and limitations of UHFUS
UHFUS showed to be a reliable technique in differentiating oral lesions.
The biggest advantage of intraoral application of UHFUS is repeatability,
which makes this technique useful for follow-up.
In cases of surgical biopsy,
UHFUS provides several additional information on the type of lesion,
lesion’s extent,
and relationship with adjacent anatomical structures to be preserved during surgery.
However,
with the currently used probe we found some difficulties in reaching posterior sites in patients with limited mouth opening.
Development of a dedicated...
Personal information
Rossana Izzetti is a PhD Student of the Program in Clinical and Traslational Research of the University of Pisa.
For more information about the topics presented in this Educational Exhibit:mail
Saverio Vitali is a Research Contractor at the Radiodiagnostica 1of the University Hospital of Pisa
Veronica Iodice is a Radiology Resident at the University of Pisa
Mario Gabriele is Chairman of the Department of Surgical Specialties of the University Hospital of Pisa
Davide Caramella is the Chairman of the Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology of the...
References
References
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2018 Feb; 77:29-36.
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3. Yamane M,...