Measurement of elasticity of normal placenta using the Virtual Touch quantification technique

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to measure the elasticity of normal placentas using the Virtual Touch quantification (VTQ) technique. METHODS: This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. Fifty randomly selected, healthy pregnant women in their second trimester and 50 randomly selected, healthy pregnant women in their third trimester with a single fetus were included, and their placentas underwent VTQ through shear wave velocity (SWV) measurements. The measurements were performed at different locations to sample different areas of the placenta. Measurements were performed 3-4 times in each location, the mean shear wave velocities were calculated without the highest and lowest values of measurements in each region, and the results were compared. RESULTS: The SWV of the placenta was 0.983±0.260 m/sec, and the minimal and maximal speed was 0.63 m/sec and 1.84 m/sec, respectively. There was no significant difference between the second and third trimester of VTQ of the placenta in terms of SWV (0.978±0.255 m/sec vs. 0.987±0.266 m/sec, P=0.711). The maternal age between second and third trimester was 27.9±4.3 years and 29.2±4.4 years, respectively; there was no significant difference between them (P=0.159). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the SWV of normal placenta tissue is 0.983±0.260 m/sec, it has little variation between the second and third trimesters, and the VTQ technique may potentially play an additional role in placenta evaluation.

Initial clinical study of virtual touch quantification for evaluation of hepatic fibrosis of chronic liver disease / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective To explore the clinical value of virtual touch quantification (VTQ) technique in assessing the hepatic fibrosis. Methods A total of 115 inpatients with chronic liver disease receiving liver biopsy were enrolled in this study, all patients liver tissue was checked by VTQ technique, and the results were compared with those of the control group including 80 healthy subjects. Results VTQ value was significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.0000).The VTQ value among different degree of hepatic fibrosis but between S0 and S1 had statistical significances (P = 0.0212, P = 0.0000).ROC curve displayed that VTQ value of 1.4 m/s could be used to diagnose middle-high-grade liver fibrosis, the sensitivity and specificity were 85.4 % and 64.7%, respectively. Conclusions VTQ can be used as a noninvasive and effective means for assessing the degree of hepatic fibrosis.