Internet Confessions of Postpartum Depression

Women with postpartum depression may suffer in silence due to the stigma of depression and failed motherhood. It is important to consider how mothers are able to talk about postpartum depression and what strategies they use. Foucault's idea that confession is a widespread technique for producing truth in Western societies was tested through discourse analysis of posts on an Internet forum for women with postpartum depression. The Internet forum showed women's use of confessionary language and self-judgments as well as their sense of disconnected mothering, shame, and disembodiment. Discourses of depression included the good mother, biomedical illness, and social dysfunction. Findings have implications for creating safe spaces for helping mothers with postpartum depression.     

Acoustic Sizing of an Ultrasound Contrast Agent

Because the properties of ultrasound contrast agent populations after administration to patients are largely unknown, methods able to study them noninvasively are required. In this study, we acoustically performed a size distribution measurement of the ultrasound contrast agent Definity^®. Single lipid-shelled microbubbles were insonified at 25 MHz, which is considerably higher than their resonance frequency, so that their acoustic responses depended on their geometrical cross sections only. We calculated the size of each microbubble from their measured backscattered pressures. The acoustic size measurements were compared with optical reference size measurements to test their accuracy. Our acoustic sizing method was applied to 88 individual Definity^® bubbles to derive a size distribution of this agent. The size distribution obtained acoustically showed a mean diameter (2.5 μm) and a standard deviation (0.9 μm) in agreement within 8% with the optical reference measurement. At 25 MHz, this method can be applied to bubble sizes larger than 1.2 μm in diameter. It was observed that similar sized bubbles can give different responses (up to a factor 1.5), probably because of shell differences. These limitations should be taken into account when implementing the method in vivo. This acoustic sizing method has potential for estimating the size distribution of an ultrasound contrast agent noninvasively. (E-mail: d.maresca@erasmusmc.nl)     

GPS Laparoscopic Ultrasound: Embedding an Electromagnetic Sensor in a Laparoscopic Ultrasound Transducer

Tracking the location and orientation of a laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) transducer is a prerequisite in many surgical visualization and navigation applications. Electromagnetic (EM) tracking is a preferred method to track an LUS transducer with an articulating imaging tip. The conventional approach to integrating EM tracking with LUS is to attach an EM sensor on the outer surface of the imaging tip (external setup), which is not ideal for routine clinical use. In this work, we embedded an EM sensor inside a standard LUS transducer. We found that ultrasound image quality and the four-way articulation function of the transducer were not affected by this sensor integration. Furthermore, we found that the tracking accuracy of our integrated transducer was comparable to that of the external setup. An animal study conducted using the developed transducer suggests that an internally embedded EM sensor is a clinically more viable approach, and may be the future of tracking an articulating LUS transducer.     

AIUM Standard for Documentation of an Ultrasound Examination

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) is an educational, scientific, and professional society concerned with the advancement of the art and science of ultrasound in medicine and research. To promote this mission, the AIUM is pleased to publish the Standard for Documentation of an Ultrasound Examination. We are indebted to the many volunteers who contributed their time, knowledge, and energy to bringing this document to completion, particularly to the members of the AIUM's Clinical Standards Committee. The AIUM represents the entire range of clinical and basic science interests in medical diagnostic ultrasound and, with hundreds of volunteers, the AIUM has promoted the safe and effective use of ultrasound in clinical medicine for more than 50 years. This document, and others like it, will continue to advance this mission. AIUM standards are intended to provide the medical ultrasound community with guidelines for the performance and recording of high quality ultrasound examinations. The standards reflect what the AIUM considers the minimum criteria, but are not intended to establish a legal standard of care. AIUM‐accredited practices are expected to generally follow the standards with the recognition that deviations from the standards will be needed in some cases depending on patient needs and available equipment. Practices are encouraged to go beyond the standards to provide additional service and information as needed by their referring physicians and patients.     

Ultrasound nucleolysis: an in vitro study

Thermal intradiscal therapy for chronic low back pain, using a catheter inserted into the intervertebral disc, is becoming more popular in the treatment of low back pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of heating the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc with high-intensity focused ultrasound (US) or HIFU. Two specific situations were considered, invasive transducers that would be in contact with the annulus fibrosus of the disc, and noninvasive transducers that could be used externally. Theoretical simulations were performed to find the optimal parameters of US transducers and then experimental studies were done using transducers made to these specifications. These experiments confirmed that it was possible to heat the discs with HIFU. Two orthogonal transducers resulted in a superior temperature distribution than using just one transducer. It is, therefore, feasible to consider thermal treatment of the nucleus pulposus of the disc using noninvasive US.