Press Articles

March 2016

The prostate remains the only organ where random biopsies are performed to find cancer, notes Jean-Michel Correas MD PhD, from the Necker University Hospital in Paris. If we proposed this approach to a woman to search for breast cancer, it would be outrageous, he said.

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« With 3-D ShearWave Elastography, for the first time, we can clearly identify and target suspicious regions of the prostate with an ultrasound based technique and perform targeted and systematic biopsies with the same imaging modality and probe,’ Correas said. »

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November 09, 2015

HealthCare Business News spoke with Dr. James Trotter about advances in ultrasound technology for evaluating the liver.
 
JT:Well, the two most important things to know are that liver disease is a rising global problem, and that here in the U.S., cases of hepatitis C, which affects the liver, have been increasing since the early 2000s. This rise may be due, in part, to better case ascertainment, but there is a true increase as well. And hep C is serious — there are more people dying of hep C than of AIDS in this country.

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By Lori Tucker  Published: October 26, 2015

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – A breakthrough tool in breast cancer screening can tell you immediately if you have the disease. It saved the life of a Knoxville woman whose mammogram didn’t pick up the tiny lump in her breast.Chris Parker, 44, is one of many women this new diagnostic device can help. Parker, a wife and mother of two, moved to Knoxville with her family from Colorado three years ago to care for her mother-in-law, who ultimately died of ovarian cancer.
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Parker’s mammogram came back clean, but she received a letter from the Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center confirming her dense breast tissue, encouraging her to get further testing by ultrasound. That’s where the new breakthrough device that saved her life comes in.

It’s called the Aixplorer(...)

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October 2015

When coming in for your annual mammogram, if there is something unusual detected, most radiologist's next step is to perform a biopsy to investigate further. These are usually scheduled a few days later.  The time between the biopsies, let alone waiting for results, can be incredibly stressful.
Dr. Kathy Schilling, a board certified diagnostic radiologist, has moved to using ultrasound technology as a second step following mammogram to get a better reading of the lesion for a better diagnosis. She has used this technology for the past six years, which has resulted in a 50 percent reduction in the number of biopsies she performs, due to more accurate and early readings. The procedure is covered by insurance and  immediately sets patients minds at ease.

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October 2, 2015. By James Trotter M.D.

Assessing liver fibrosis in Hepatitis C patients used to lead to a “least worst” decision: would it be better to treat the patient with early generation antiviral therapies, exposing him or her to damaging side effects for a 50/50 shot at a cure, or should the patient be monitored, via regular liver biopsies, as the untreated disease progresses?
New oral drugs have changed this calculus for Hepatologists. These drugs cure the disease in more than 90 percent of patients, have fewer side effects, and can work much faster than earlier treatment options. Since the new therapies are so effective, precise staging is no longer required as a means to triage patients to treatment. Hepatologists no longer have to subject patients to painful liver biopsies to gain the staging information necessary for treatment decisions. The most important determination is the identification of cirrhosis so that appropriate long-term follow-up can be initiated following curative therapy. These developments in treatment dovetail with developments in liver evaluation technology. Instead, using ShearWave™ Elastography (SWE), they can perform a non-invasive test in the office and obtain results about tissue stiffness and the extent of liver fibrosis in real time.

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