From routine screening to high risk assessment in obstetrics, gynaecology and breast imaging, it is critical to start with – and maintain – high image quality across ultrasound for the benefit of women’s health. Every examination is important. If we look at multiple pregnancies and the associated risks it is clear that superior image quality […]
Jane Hanford
Canon Medical Systems UK
Retained pregnancy tissue (RPT) is a common complication affecting many women following delivery, miscarriage and termination of pregnancy. The use of transvaginal ultrasound remains the most accurate imaging modality for assessing symptomatic women. However, diagnostic accuracy is heavily dependent on a number of factors. Prompt, accurate diagnosis of RPT is essential to identify women who […]
Ellie Hulme, Jemma Johns
King's College Hospital, King's College London
There are significant physiological changes during pregnancy and lactation. One of the main changes is the increasing proliferation of the milk ducts secondary to hormonal stimulation. This subsequently increases the density and volume of breast tissue, which may compromise imaging diagnostic sensitivity, especially in mammography examinations. In addition, there are concerns about radiation and contrast […]
Dr Sau Lee Chang, Dr Justice Reilly
NHS Tayside, NHS Lanarkshire
Ultrasound, chiefly transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS), is the preferred imaging modality for assessing female pelvic anatomy, making it an important gynaecological investigation. TVUS is unique in that it acts not only as an imaging modality but as a dynamic examination, and as such many findings cannot be determined from stored static images alone. This means, more […]
Dr Uzo Sampson, Miss Jackie Ross
King's College Hospital, London
Pregnant patients frequently present with non-specific abdominal pain requiring medical attention. It is important to identify those with an ‘acute abdomen’ requiring surgical intervention and equally not expose mother and baby to the risks of surgery if this is not indicated. Clinical assessment is difficult in pregnant females due to a number of factors related […]
Dr Sara Meredith, Dr Cairine Probert, Dr Rebecca Wiles
Royal Liverpool University Hospital
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred cross-sectional imaging modality for pelvic pathology in pregnancy given the well-established risks of ionising radiation to the fetus with computed tomography. While ultrasound, a safe and readily available imaging tool, remains the primary imaging investigation in pregnancy, it can be limited by overlying structures, bowel gas and the […]
Dr Ciara Gillespie, Dr Heather Moriarty, Dr Tony Geoghegan, Professor Leo Lawler
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
It is a familiar request on call: A pregnant woman presenting with chest pain and tachycardia – a pulmonary embolism (PE) needs to be excluded. Increasing requests for imaging in this context are unavoidable as PE remains a leading cause of mortality in pregnancy and the post-partum period in the developed world, with an approximate […]
Dr Lynne Armstrong, Dr Andrew Beale
United Hospitals Bristol, Great Western Hospital
Early pregnancy complications such as miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy (EP) are very common and associated with significant physical and emotional morbidity for the patient and her family. Transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) is the diagnostic cornerstone of the management of women with early pregnancy complications, with high sensitivity of 87-99%, specificity of 94-99% and it is the […]
Heena Mehra, Jackie Ross
King's College Hospital