PURPOSE: To assess whether characterization of solid focal liver lesions could be improved by using ultrasonographic (US) contrast-specific modes after sulfur hexafluoride–filled microbubble contrast agent injection, as compared with lesion characterization achieved with preliminary baseline US. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred fifty-two solid focal hepatic lesions that were considered indeterminate at baseline gray-scale and color Doppler US were examined after microbubble contrast agent injection performed by using low-acoustic-power contrast-specific modes during the arterial (10–40 seconds after injection), portal venous (50–90 seconds after injection), and late (100–300 seconds after injection) phases. Two readers independently and retrospectively reviewed baseline and contrast material–enhanced US scans and classified each depicted lesion as malignant or benign according to standard diagnostic criteria. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values and areas unde...

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to evaluate contrast-enhanced sonography in the diagnosis of malignancy in complex cystic renal masses.MATERIALS AND METHODS. We analyzed a series of 40 cystic renal masses (diameter, 2–8 cm) with a complex pattern at contrast-enhanced CT in 40 consecutive subjects (18 men, 22 women; mean age ± SD, 62 ± 11 years). Each renal mass was scanned using sonography without contrast material and after IV injection of sulfur hexafluoride–filled microbubbles during the arterial (15–40 seconds) and venous (40–120 seconds from injection) phases. Two radiologists in consensus assessed onsite the enhancement patterns in the peripheral wall and intracystic septa and the evidence of solid endocystic components. Three blinded readers with 2, 6, and 10 years of experience in renal imaging performed a retrospective off-site interpretation of unenhanced sonography, contrast-enhanced sonography, and CT images and made a benign or malignant diagnosis according to refer ence diagnostic ...

To prospectively evaluate the diagnostic contribution of mammography with synchrotron radiation in patients with questionable or suspicious breast abnormalities identified at combined digital mammography (DM) and ultrasonography (US). The ethics committee approved this prospective study, and written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Mammography with synchrotron radiation was performed with a phase-detection technique at a synchrotron radiation laboratory. Forty-nine women who met at least one of the inclusion criteria (palpable mass, focal asymmetry, architectural distortion, or equivocal or suspicious mass at DM; none clarified at US) were enrolled. Forty-seven women (mean age, 57.8 years ± 8.8 [standard deviation]; age range, 43-78 years) completed the study protocol, which involved biopsy or follow-up for 1 year as the reference standard. Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) scores of 1-3 were considered to indicate a negative result, while scores 4-5 were considered to indicate a positive result. The visibility of breast abnormalities and the glandular parenchymal structure at DM and at mammography with synchrotron radiation was compared by using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. In 29 of the 31 patients with a final diagnosis of benign entity, mammography with synchrotron radiation yielded BI-RADS scores of 1-3. In 13 of the remaining 16 patients with a final diagnosis of malignancy, mammography with synchrotron radiation yielded BI-RADS scores of 4-5. Therefore, a sensitivity of 81% (13 of 16 patients) and a specificity of 94% (29 of 31 patients) were achieved with use of the described BI-RADS dichotomization system. These study results suggest that mammography with synchrotron radiation can be used to clarify cases of questionable or suspicious breast abnormalities identified at DM. http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.11100745/-/DC1.