Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It’s a new year, and with that comes new, exciting updates in the world of ultrasound. Researchers continue to ask the question, “What can’t ultrasound be used for?” as they continue to explore new techniques in whole-body imaging, interventional imaging, and point-of-care imaging.
A team from California recently described an approach that combines rotational ultrasound (RUS) and photoacoustic tomography (PAT). The resulting system, RUS-PAT, captured 3D images of both tissue structure and blood vessels across a region up to 10 cm wide in about 10 seconds across multiple parts of the body. Read our featured article to see how this system can help manage care for people with vascular and neurological diseases.
In other news, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) showed promise in two recent studies. One study suggested that training can help novice POCUS users in the emergency department guide nerve blocks in patients with hip fractures. Another found that POCUS can lessen anxiety and pain for emergency patients being diagnosed with biliary disease.
Investigators continue to demonstrate ultrasound’s utility in breast imaging. An Italian team showed how ultrasound-guided cryoablation leads to high complete ablation rates for tumors 15 mm or greater, while researchers at RSNA 2025 in Chicago reported varying abnormal interpretation rates for whole-breast ultrasound and digital breast tomosynthesis. And a group out of Johns Hopkins University found that applying generalized contrast-to-noise ratio to short-lag spatial coherence images can distinguish fluid from solid breast masses with high accuracy.
In other news, the ultrasound community lost a pioneering figure in December when Kevin Parker, PhD, passed away at the age of 71. Parker co-invented the blue noise mask in the early ‘90s and was the first person from the University of Rochester in New York to be named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
There’s good news for users of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in December announced it will double reimbursement for certain CEUS exams in 2026. Richard Barr, MD, PhD, discussed this update and growing interest in CEUS with AuntMinnie.com at RSNA 2025. Another recent study showed that CEUS with consensus interpretation is noninferior to contrast-enhanced MRI for finding residual viable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Finally, in cardiac imaging news, research out of Switzerland highlighted that echocardiography indicated that short-term cardiac changes after marathon running are reversible.
We've covered a lot of ground in this edition of the Ultrasound Insider. Be sure to regularly check out AuntMinnie’s Ultrasound content area for the latest updates in the field!
Amerigo Allegretto
Associate Editor
AuntMinnie.com