(Nashua, NH) – Imaging agents that can work at the cellular level are positioned to propel noninvasive diagnostics into a new era. These molecular imaging agents can associate with highly specific markers on the surface of cells to provide unparalleled specificity, creating new opportunities for visualization, targeted drug delivery, and mapping physiological changes over time.

A high-energy form of ultrasound imaging developed by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering produces pictures of liver tumors that are better than those made with traditional ultrasound, according to results of a clinical study.

Adding ultrasound to mammography finds more cancers than mammography alone, but also substantially increases the number of false positives, according to first-year results from a three-year study of the two tests.

Physiotherapy ultrasound machines are commonplace in medicine and sports injury treatment but limitations with current calibration equipment mean they may be producing inaccurate doses that could lead to further injury.

An intense form of ultrasound that shakes a tumor until its cells start to leak can trigger an “alarm” that enlists immune defenses against the cancerous invasion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.

Mayo Clinic physicians have adapted real-time 3-D ultrasound imaging devices -- including one designed to look at an infant’s heart -- so that they can watch as they use a needle filled with anesthetic to numb individual nerves located inches under the skin.

The combined use of two minimally invasive techniques—endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB)-- in the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions has been shown to be more effective than either procedure alone and does not compromise patients’ safety, according to a new study.

Researchers have reported that breast masses shown on that are diagnosed as “probably benign” can be safely managed with imaging follow-up rather than biopsy, according to a study appearing in the July issue of Radiology.

Biomedical engineers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have adapted a three-dimensional ultrasound scanner that might guide minimally invasive brain surgeries and provide better detection of a brain tumor's location.

The June 2007 issue of the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine (JUM) will contain substantial content focusing on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).

A noninvasive ultrasound procedure effectively shrinks uterine fibroids and significantly relieves fibroid-related symptoms in women, according to the results of a multicenter clinical trial reported in the June issue of the journal Radiology. Magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) allows radiologists to precisely target fibroids without harming healthy surrounding tissue.