[Internet use for telemedecine: fetal medicine applications]. / Utilisation d'internet pour la télémédecine : application en médecine foetale.

PURPOSE: Assessment of the transmission of still and moving images via the Internet for teleconsultations in fetal medicine. MATERIAL: and methods: Implementation fo two PC systems linked via the internet for the transmission of fixed ultrasound, radiography and scanner images, as well as moving ultrasound images. The assessment took into account was based upon the compression factor. RESULTS: The commutative telephone network transmitted ultrasound and radiographic images by e-mail without difficulty, rapidly (3min 46s for 4Mo files, after compression), inexpensively, and well. The transmission of video ultrasound files using the same procedure was also of good quality, but and exorbitant amount of time was required to send and receive the files. A more advanced configuration could improve the transmission time only sligthly, to 2h30 min 19s for 15s sequences. Live tranmission of video ultrasound sequences by the internet cannot be considered with anything less than a connection including ISDN lines, the minimum to provide the necessary bandwith. CONCLUSION: The Internet is a valuable tool to allow expert consultation in foetal medicine of live still images and recorded moving images.

Ultrasound of normal skin.

The authors have used a commercially available real-time sector scanner and a 10-MHz probe with a built-in water path for B-mode imaging of the normal skin. Measurements have been performed in 10 volunteers at 18 sites on the body surface. Normal skin thickness ranges from 1.4 mm at the dorsal aspect of hand to 4.8 mm at the heel. Clinical applications of B-mode imaging of the skin are discussed.

[Contribution in oncology of fine needle puncture-aspiration of abdominal organs under echographic guidance in real time. Apropos of 265 cases]. / Apport en cancérologie de la ponction-aspiration à l'aiguille fine d'organes abdominaux sous contrôle échographique en temps réel. A propos de 265 observations.

The authors report a 3-year experience in the field of real-time ultrasonically-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies of abdominal lesions in a Cancer Institution. The procedure is performed using a linear-array electronic biopsy transducer. Results obtained in a series of 265 aspirations are analyzed. Major benefits and applications of this technique in oncology are discussed while emphasis is put on the economical aspects of this diagnostic "shunt".

[Diagnosis of calcification of the patellar tendon. Echo-radiographic comparison]. / Diagnostic des calcifications du tendon rotulien. Comparaison écho-radiographique.

Real-time sonography was compared to low-kilovoltage radiographs in the diagnosis of intra-tendinous calcifications in 10 patients with chronic patellar tendonitis. In these patients sonography demonstrated thickening (100% of cases) and hypoechogenicity (90% of cases) of the patellar tendon. Ultrasound disclosed all calcifications displayed on radiographs showing hyperechoic foci. The associated acoustic shadow was absent in one case of a calcification less than one millimeter in diameter. Real-time ultrasound appears highly reliable in the diagnosis of even minute intra-tendinous calcifications. It also provides an accurate three-dimensional localization of the calcific deposits in the tendons.