Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Education and training, Artifacts, Technical aspects, Education, Diagnostic procedure, Ultrasound, Elastography, Ultrasound physics, Genital / Reproductive system male
Authors:
A. Goddi1, P. nocera2, L. Milan1, A. Dell'Era3, R. novario1; 1Varese/IT, 2Milan/IT, 3Como/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-0240
Learning objectives
- To describe the most common artefacts in prostate US elastography.
- To suggest how to interpret them,
for improving the operator’s diagnostic confidence.
Ultrasound (US) elastography is a novel imaging technique which was purposed as to be able to map tissue stiffness in various organs [1-5].
Elastography measures tissue stiffness looking at modifications of the US image after applying mechanical stress [6].
Two real-time elastography methods have been proposed for the prostate tissue elasticity analysis: strain elastography (SE) [7] and shear wave elastography (SWE) [8].
Color-coded maps provide a visual representation of the results.
No quantitative elasticity analysis is available with SE; on the other hand,
when using SWE a lesion stiffness quantification is given (in kPa or m/s).
Both methods have been demonstrated to provide high sensitivity for detecting prostate cancer; moreover,
they show high negative predictive values,
ensuring that few cancers will be missed [9,
10].
A detailed explanation of prostate elastography can be found in the WFUMB guidelines [11].
However,
both SE and SWE have some limitations,
mainly related to inherent limits and operator dependency.
Moreover,
they are affected by artefacts which should be recognised to avoid pitfalls.