<p>The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of a new ultrasound contrast agent,Sonazoid^TM, intended for use in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer.</p><p>The sonographic appearance of normal prostatic vascularity in dogs was evaluated before and after injection of Sonazoid,using different Doppler flow detection modes.The use of Sonazoid significantly improved the visibility of the vascular pattern in normal dog prostate,both with colour and power Doppler imaging.There was a significant difference in the depiction of blood flow in the prostate between the two imaging modalities,showing the power Doppler superior to colour Doppler imaging.The contrast revealed a radial,spoke-like intraprostatic pattern,not seen prior to contrast injection.</p><p>Different ultrasound imaging modalities were tested in a small group of young healthy male volunteers to evaluate the visibility of the normal prostate blood flow with and without Sonazoid.</p><p>The ultrasound contrast agent improved the visibility of the normal human prostate vascular anatomy for both colour and power Doppler imaging.Again,the improvement was significantly better for power Doppler than for colour Doppler imaging.Using fundamental B-mode,there was no major difference in the ultrasound appearance of the prost ate vascular it y before and after i njection of Sonazoid.Cont rast dynamic st udies of blood flow wit hi n t he normal gland showed a filling from the periphery towards the centre in all subjects,demonstrating a symmetric, radial vascular pattern.</p><p>A canine prostate model was used to investigate if Sonazoid,could improve the visualisation of prostatic vessels to better delineate areas on normal and decreased blood flow.Both 2D and 3D power Doppler imaging was performed in this study.The visibility of the prostate blood flow improved significantly following injection of Sonazoid for both 2D and 3D power Doppler imaging.There was,however,no major difference in depicting the vascularity using 2D and 3D imaging.After injection of Sonazoid,a disturbance of the radial vascular pattern and a lack of blood flow symmetry between the two prostate lobes were possible to identify.The added information gained by injection of Sonazoid made it possible to identify areas of decreased blood flow not seen prior to contrast injection.</p><p>The vascular pattern of lesions,identified with B-mode imaging in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer,was studied,using Sonazoid.Contrast dynamic inflow in the lesions,compared to the adjacent tissue was investigated in the same study.Prostate cancer lesions appeared hypervasuclar prior to ultrasound contrast agent.Three of six cancer lesions changed from hypervascular to marked hypervascular following injection of Sonazoid,a finding that might be interpreted as a higher level of confidence.None of the non-cancer lesions were assessed as hypervascular after Sonazoid injection,a possible increased value of a negative finding.Four of the cancer lesions enhanced earlier compared to the surrounding prostate tissue,following ultrasound contrast injection.The results indicate that changes in vascular architecture,e.g.induction of angiogenesis by tumour cells,can be observed by ultrasonographically determining the inflow pattern of an intravenously injected ultrasound contrast agent.</p>

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of a new ultrasound contrast agent,SonazoidTM, intended for use in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer. The sonographic appearance of normal prostatic vascularity in dogs was evaluated before and after injection of Sonazoid,using different Doppler flow detection modes.The use of Sonazoid significantly improved the visibility of the vascular pattern in normal dog prostate,both with colour and power Doppler imaging.There was a significant difference in the depiction of blood flow in the prostate between the two imaging modalities,showing the power Doppler superior to colour Doppler imaging.The contrast revealed a radial,spoke-like intraprostatic pattern,not seen prior to contrast injection. Different ultrasound imaging modalities were tested in a small group of young healthy male volunteers to evaluate the visibility of the normal prostate blood flow with and without Sonazoid. The ultrasound contrast agent improved the visibility of the normal human prostate vascular anatomy for both colour and power Doppler imaging.Again,the improvement was significantly better for power Doppler than for colour Doppler imaging.Using fundamental B-mode,there was no major difference in the ultrasound appearance of the prost ate vascular it y before and after i njection of Sonazoid.Cont rast dynamic st udies of blood flow wit hi n t he normal gland showed a filling from the periphery towards the centre in all subjects,demonstrating a symmetric, radial vascular pattern. A canine prostate model was used to investigate if Sonazoid,could improve the visualisation of prostatic vessels to better delineate areas on normal and decreased blood flow.Both 2D and 3D power Doppler imaging was performed in this study.The visibility of the prostate blood flow improved significantly following injection of Sonazoid for both 2D and 3D power Doppler imaging.There was,however,no major difference in depicting the vascularity using 2D and 3D imaging.After injection of Sonazoid,a disturbance of the radial vascular pattern and a lack of blood flow symmetry between the two prostate lobes were possible to identify.The added information gained by injection of Sonazoid made it possible to identify areas of decreased blood flow not seen prior to contrast injection. The vascular pattern of lesions,identified with B-mode imaging in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer,was studied,using Sonazoid.Contrast dynamic inflow in the lesions,compared to the adjacent tissue was investigated in the same study.Prostate cancer lesions appeared hypervasuclar prior to ultrasound contrast agent.Three of six cancer lesions changed from hypervascular to marked hypervascular following injection of Sonazoid,a finding that might be interpreted as a higher level of confidence.None of the non-cancer lesions were assessed as hypervascular after Sonazoid injection,a possible increased value of a negative finding.Four of the cancer lesions enhanced earlier compared to the surrounding prostate tissue,following ultrasound contrast injection.The results indicate that changes in vascular architecture,e.g.induction of angiogenesis by tumour cells,can be observed by ultrasonographically determining the inflow pattern of an intravenously injected ultrasound contrast agent.

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death by cancer for men. Focal therapy is being tested to target only the dominant cancer lesion in the prostate. However, due to the need to ensure that the laser is targeting only the cancer, a real-time treatment monitoring system is required. A combined optical-ultrasound monitoring system is in development at Princess Margaret Hospital based on different optical properties for coagulated versus normal tissue. In this project, we developed a light delivery and collection device that is compatible for use with an existing trans-rectal ultrasound-imaging probe. Computer-aided design software was used to visualize the prototype in relation to the trans-rectal ultrasound probe. This thesis describes the critical tasks necessary to assemble the final prototype, including listing of specifications, selection of device material based on safety and mechanical properties, method of prototype fabrication, positioning and fixation of optical fibers and testing.

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death by cancer for men. Focal therapy is being tested to target only the dominant cancer lesion in the prostate. However, due to the need to ensure that the laser is targeting only the cancer, a real-time treatment monitoring system is required. A combined optical-ultrasound monitoring system is in development at Princess Margaret Hospital based on different optical properties for coagulated versus normal tissue. In this project, we developed a light delivery and collection device that is compatible for use with an existing trans-rectal ultrasound-imaging probe. Computer-aided design software was used to visualize the prototype in relation to the trans-rectal ultrasound probe. This thesis describes the critical tasks necessary to assemble the final prototype, including listing of specifications, selection of device material based on safety and mechanical properties, method of prototype fabrication, positioning and fixation of optical fibers and testing.

Prostate cancer continues to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. Brachytherapy has emerged as one of the definitive treatment options for early stage prostate cancer which entails permanent implantation of radioactive seeds into the prostate to eradicate the cancer with ionizing radiation. Successful brachytherapy requires the ability to perform dosimetry -which requires seed localization- during the procedure but such function is not available today. If dosimetry could be performed intraoperatively, physicians could implant additional seeds into the under-dosed portions of the prostate while the patient is still on the operating table. This thesis addresses the brachytherapy seed localization problem with introducing intensity based registration between transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) that shows only the prostate and a 3D seed model drawn from fluoroscopy that shows only the implanted seeds. The TRUS images are first filtered and compounded, and then registered to the seed model by using mutual information. A training phantom was implanted with 48 seeds and imaged. Various ultrasound filtering techniques were analyzed. The effect of false positives and false negatives in ultrasound was investigated by randomly masking seeds from the fluoroscopy volume or adding seeds to that in random locations. Furthermore, the effect of sparse and dense ultrasound data was analyzed by running the registration for ultrasound data with different spacing. The registration error remained consistently below clinical threshold and capture range was significantly larger than the initial guess guaranteed by the clinical workflow. This fully automated method provided excellent registration accuracy and robustness in phantom studies and promises to demonstrate clinically adequate performance on human data. / Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-27 12:35:16.691

Background: Transrectal ultrasound is commonly performed in the clinical evaluation of the prostate. Ultrasound-guided randomized sextant biopsy became the standard procedure for the diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate (CaP). A guided biopsy of sonographically irregular lesions of the prostate is not performed in randomized biopsies. An almost generally accepted opinion is that hypoechoic lesions are suspicious for the presence of CaP. However, the role of prostatic lesions with an echogenicity other than iso- or hypoechoic, e.g. hyperechoic or irregular lesions in relation to CaP is not clear. The intention of the present prospective study was to clarify the role of different prostatic ultrasound findings with a new-generation ultrasound probe in regard to their relevance concerning the presence of cancer. Material and Methods: 265 patients who were referred for prostatic evaluation because of an elevated PSA serum level or a positive digital rectal examination were enrolled in a prospective study. All patients had a systematic ultrasound-guided sextant biopsy of the prostate and a 4-core biopsy of the transition zone. All biopsy cores taken were guided by transrectal ultrasound. In case of a sonographically suspicious lesion, biopsy was always directed into this area. The predominant ultrasound appearance was separately recorded for each core. Results: Carcinoma of the prostate was detected in 87 (32.8%) of the 265 patients. Biopsy cores with isoechoic ultrasound findings revealed CaP in 7.6%. The data for hypoechoic, hyperechoic, mixed-echoic and anechoic lesions were 34.5, 26.9, 21.1 and 0%, respectively. Hypoechoic ultrasound findings were less frequently found in the transition zone of the prostate, but the rate of CaP detection was the same as in the peripheral zone of the prostate. Conclusions:The transrectal ultrasound pattern of the prostate yields important information about the presence of carcinoma of the prostate. Especially hypoechoic lesions indicate the presence of CaP in a significant proportion of cases. However, hyperechoic lesions and lesions of mixed or irregular echogenicity were found to contain cancer in significant numbers as well, and should therefore be considered to be suspicious for cancer when performing transrectal ultrasound of the prostate. Directed biopsy of irregular ultrasound patterns in the prostate seems therefore to be recommendable. / Hintergrund: Der transrektale Ultraschall ist die häufigste bildgebende Untersuchung zur klinischen Beurteilung der Prostata. Zur Diagnostik des Prostatakarzinoms (PCa) hat sich die ultraschallgesteuerte Sextanten-Biopsie als Standardverfahren etabliert. Eine gezielte Biopsie irregulärer Ultraschallbezirke ist hier nicht vorgesehen. Es ist jedoch bekannt, daß sonographisch echoarm erscheinende Areale suspekt für die Präsenz eines PCa sind. Die Wertigkeit nicht einheitlicher oder echoreicher Ultraschallmuster ist jedoch bisher nicht zweifelsfrei geklärt. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, mit einem Ultraschallgerät der neuesten Generation die Bedeutung der verschiedenen Ultraschallmuster bezüglich des Vorhandenseins von Prostatakarzinomen zu klären. Material und Methoden: 265 Patienten mit erhöhten PSA-Serumwerten oder suspekten Tastbefunden der Prostata wurden in die prospektive Untersuchung eingeschlossen. Bei allen Patienten wurden systematische, ultraschallgesteuerte Prostatabiopsien, wie in der Sextantenbiopsie vorgesehen, und 4 Zylinder aus der Transitionalzone entnommen. Bei der Biopsie wurde jedoch gezielt die Punktion in Bereichen von – falls vorhanden – irregulärem Ultraschallmuster vorgenommen und das entsprechende Ultraschallbild dokumentiert. Ergebnisse: Bei 87 der 265 Patienten (32,8%) wurden Prostatakarzinome nachgewiesen. Biopsiezylinder aus isodensen Bereichen wiesen in 7,6% ein Prostatakarzinom auf. Die Karzinomhäufigkeit bei Biopsie von echoarmen und echoreichen Arealen sowie von Arealen mit unterschiedlichen Echomustern und von zystischen Arealen wurde mit 34,5, 26,9, 21,1 bzw. 0% ermittelt. Echoarme Befunde wurden seltener in der Transitionalzone nachgewiesen, waren jedoch dort in etwa gleicher Häufigkeit mit einem Karzinom verbunden wie in der peripheren Zone. Schlußfolgerungen: Das transrektale Ultraschallmuster in der Prostata liefert wichtige Hinweise auf das Vorhandensein eines Prostatakarzinoms. Insbesondere echoarme Läsionen deuten auf ein PCa hin. Echoreiche Läsionen und solche mit unterschiedlichen Echomustern enthielten jedoch Karzinome in so bedeutender Anzahl, daß diese Läsionen ebenfalls als karzinomverdächtig eingestuft werden müssen und auch eine gezielte Biopsie dieser Areale im Rahmen der Sextantenbiopsie empfehlenswert erscheint. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Background: Transrectal ultrasound is commonly performed in the clinical evaluation of the prostate. Ultrasound-guided randomized sextant biopsy became the standard procedure for the diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate (CaP). A guided biopsy of sonographically irregular lesions of the prostate is not performed in randomized biopsies. An almost generally accepted opinion is that hypoechoic lesions are suspicious for the presence of CaP. However, the role of prostatic lesions with an echogenicity other than iso- or hypoechoic, e.g. hyperechoic or irregular lesions in relation to CaP is not clear. The intention of the present prospective study was to clarify the role of different prostatic ultrasound findings with a new-generation ultrasound probe in regard to their relevance concerning the presence of cancer. Material and Methods: 265 patients who were referred for prostatic evaluation because of an elevated PSA serum level or a positive digital rectal examination were enrolled in a prospective study. All patients had a systematic ultrasound-guided sextant biopsy of the prostate and a 4-core biopsy of the transition zone. All biopsy cores taken were guided by transrectal ultrasound. In case of a sonographically suspicious lesion, biopsy was always directed into this area. The predominant ultrasound appearance was separately recorded for each core. Results: Carcinoma of the prostate was detected in 87 (32.8%) of the 265 patients. Biopsy cores with isoechoic ultrasound findings revealed CaP in 7.6%. The data for hypoechoic, hyperechoic, mixed-echoic and anechoic lesions were 34.5, 26.9, 21.1 and 0%, respectively. Hypoechoic ultrasound findings were less frequently found in the transition zone of the prostate, but the rate of CaP detection was the same as in the peripheral zone of the prostate. Conclusions:The transrectal ultrasound pattern of the prostate yields important information about the presence of carcinoma of the prostate. Especially hypoechoic lesions indicate the presence of CaP in a significant proportion of cases. However, hyperechoic lesions and lesions of mixed or irregular echogenicity were found to contain cancer in significant numbers as well, and should therefore be considered to be suspicious for cancer when performing transrectal ultrasound of the prostate. Directed biopsy of irregular ultrasound patterns in the prostate seems therefore to be recommendable. / Hintergrund: Der transrektale Ultraschall ist die häufigste bildgebende Untersuchung zur klinischen Beurteilung der Prostata. Zur Diagnostik des Prostatakarzinoms (PCa) hat sich die ultraschallgesteuerte Sextanten-Biopsie als Standardverfahren etabliert. Eine gezielte Biopsie irregulärer Ultraschallbezirke ist hier nicht vorgesehen. Es ist jedoch bekannt, daß sonographisch echoarm erscheinende Areale suspekt für die Präsenz eines PCa sind. Die Wertigkeit nicht einheitlicher oder echoreicher Ultraschallmuster ist jedoch bisher nicht zweifelsfrei geklärt. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, mit einem Ultraschallgerät der neuesten Generation die Bedeutung der verschiedenen Ultraschallmuster bezüglich des Vorhandenseins von Prostatakarzinomen zu klären. Material und Methoden: 265 Patienten mit erhöhten PSA-Serumwerten oder suspekten Tastbefunden der Prostata wurden in die prospektive Untersuchung eingeschlossen. Bei allen Patienten wurden systematische, ultraschallgesteuerte Prostatabiopsien, wie in der Sextantenbiopsie vorgesehen, und 4 Zylinder aus der Transitionalzone entnommen. Bei der Biopsie wurde jedoch gezielt die Punktion in Bereichen von – falls vorhanden – irregulärem Ultraschallmuster vorgenommen und das entsprechende Ultraschallbild dokumentiert. Ergebnisse: Bei 87 der 265 Patienten (32,8%) wurden Prostatakarzinome nachgewiesen. Biopsiezylinder aus isodensen Bereichen wiesen in 7,6% ein Prostatakarzinom auf. Die Karzinomhäufigkeit bei Biopsie von echoarmen und echoreichen Arealen sowie von Arealen mit unterschiedlichen Echomustern und von zystischen Arealen wurde mit 34,5, 26,9, 21,1 bzw. 0% ermittelt. Echoarme Befunde wurden seltener in der Transitionalzone nachgewiesen, waren jedoch dort in etwa gleicher Häufigkeit mit einem Karzinom verbunden wie in der peripheren Zone. Schlußfolgerungen: Das transrektale Ultraschallmuster in der Prostata liefert wichtige Hinweise auf das Vorhandensein eines Prostatakarzinoms. Insbesondere echoarme Läsionen deuten auf ein PCa hin. Echoreiche Läsionen und solche mit unterschiedlichen Echomustern enthielten jedoch Karzinome in so bedeutender Anzahl, daß diese Läsionen ebenfalls als karzinomverdächtig eingestuft werden müssen und auch eine gezielte Biopsie dieser Areale im Rahmen der Sextantenbiopsie empfehlenswert erscheint. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Transition zone biopsies have been found to increase the detection rates of cancer of the prostate in patients with negative digital rectal examination. There are however no data available whether the higher biopsy rate is associated with greater morbidity. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the complication rate of extended sextant biopsy. In this prospective study, 162 consecutive patients who presented for prostatic evaluation were included. After starting prophylactic antibiotic treatment 48 h prior to the procedure, transrectal ultrasound-guided core biopsies were obtained from each lobe: three each from the peripheral zone (apex, mid-zone and base) and two from the transition zone of each prostatic lobe. In all patients a questionnaire was obtained 10–12 days after the procedure. Major complications occurred in 3 patients. In 2 of the 3 cases major macroscopic hematuria was treated by an indwelling catheter for 1 or 2 days and 1 patient developed fever >38.5°C for 1 day. Minor macroscopic hematuria was present in 68.5% of the patients. In 17.9% of these cases, the hematuria lasted for more than 3 days. Hematospermia was observed in 19.8% and minor rectal bleeding occurred in 4.9%. Ten-core biopsies did not lead to an increase in adverse effects or complications when compared to the results of sextant biopsies reported in the literature. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Prostatacancer är den vanligaste cancerformen hos män. Prostatan tillhör de manliga reproduktionsorganen och producerar bland annat prostataspecifikt antigen (PSA) som kan påvisas i blodet. Förhöjda värden av PSA kan bero på prostatacancer. Transrektalt ultraljuds (TRULS)-ledda systematiska biopsier används i högre frekvens än magnetkamera med riktad biopsi. Röntgensjuksköterskans möte med dessa patienter är före, under och efter bildtagningen med magnetkameran. Syftet var att göra en översikt av den diagnostiska träffsäkerheten för TRULS-ledda systematiska biopsier och magnetresonans (MR)-undersökning med riktade biopsier vid misstanke om prostatacancer. Metoden bestod av en litteraturöversikt med systematisk ansats. Inkluderingskriterier var vetenskapliga artiklar skrivna mellan 2015–2020. Artiklarna skulle vara peer-reviewed och etiskt granskade. Databasen Medline användes till sökningen. Kvalitetsgranskning gjordes med granskningsprotokoll hämtade från Avdelningen för omvårdnad på Hälsohögskolan. I resultatet inkluderades 15 artiklar som visade att skillnaden i den diagnostiska träffsäkerheten för prostatacancer hos män inte var stor mellan metoderna. Däremot hittade MR-undersökning med riktade biopsier större andel kliniskt signifikanta cancrar och mindre del insignifikanta cancrar än vad TRULS-ledda systematiska biopsier gjorde. MR-undersökning med riktad biopsi är en bra metod för att öka träffsäkerheten att hitta kliniskt signifikant cancer. Dock går det inte utesluta TRULS-ledda systematiska biopsier då kontraindikationer och missade cancrar på MR-undersökning med riktade biopsier förkommer. / Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. The prostate belongs to the male reproductive organs and produces, among other things, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) that can be detected in the blood. Elevated levels of PSA may be due to prostate cancer. Transrectally ultrasound (TRULS)-guided systemic biopsies are used at higher frequency than magnetic cameras with directed biopsy. The X-ray nurse's meeting with these patients is before, during and after the imaging with the magnetic camera. The aim was to make an overview of the diagnostic accuracy of TRULS guided systematic biopsies and MRI with targeted biopsies on suspicion of prostate cancer. The method consisted of a literature review with systematic approach. Inclusion criteria were scientific articles written between 2015-2020. The articles would be peer-reviewed and ethically approved. The Medline database was used for the search. Quality review was done with review protocols obtained from the Department of Nursing at the School of Health. The result included 15 articles showing that there was no big difference in the diagnostic accuracy of prostate cancer in men between the methods. In contrast, MRI with targeted biopsies found a greater proportion of clinically significant cancers and a smaller proportion of insignificant cancers than TRULS guided systematic biopsies did. MRI with targeted biopsy is a good method for increasing the accuracy of finding clinically significant cancer. However, TRULS guided systematic biopsies cannot be ruled out as contraindications and missed cancers on MRI with targeted biopsies occur.

Transition zone biopsies have been found to increase the detection rates of cancer of the prostate in patients with negative digital rectal examination. There are however no data available whether the higher biopsy rate is associated with greater morbidity. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the complication rate of extended sextant biopsy. In this prospective study, 162 consecutive patients who presented for prostatic evaluation were included. After starting prophylactic antibiotic treatment 48 h prior to the procedure, transrectal ultrasound-guided core biopsies were obtained from each lobe: three each from the peripheral zone (apex, mid-zone and base) and two from the transition zone of each prostatic lobe. In all patients a questionnaire was obtained 10–12 days after the procedure. Major complications occurred in 3 patients. In 2 of the 3 cases major macroscopic hematuria was treated by an indwelling catheter for 1 or 2 days and 1 patient developed fever >38.5°C for 1 day. Minor macroscopic hematuria was present in 68.5% of the patients. In 17.9% of these cases, the hematuria lasted for more than 3 days. Hematospermia was observed in 19.8% and minor rectal bleeding occurred in 4.9%. Ten-core biopsies did not lead to an increase in adverse effects or complications when compared to the results of sextant biopsies reported in the literature. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.