A closer look to the new frontier of artificial intelligence in the percutaneous treatment of primary lesions of the liver.

The purpose of thermal ablation is induction of tumor death by means of localized hyperthermia resulting in irreversible cellular damage. Ablative therapies are well-recognized treatment modalities for HCC lesions and are considered standard of care for HCC nodules < 3 cm in diameter in patients not suitable for surgery. Effective lesion treatment rely on complete target volume ablation. Technical limitations are represented by large (> 3 cm) or multicentric nodules as well as complex nodule location and poor lesion conspicuity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a general term referred to computational algorithms that can analyze data and perform complex tasks otherwise prerogative of Human Intelligence. AI has a variety of application in percutaneous ablation procedures such as Navigational software, Fusion Imaging, and robot-assisted ablation tools. Those instruments represent relative innovations in the field of Interventional Oncology and promising strategies to overcome actual limitations of ablative therapy in order to increase feasibility and technical results. This work aims to review the principal application of Artificial Intelligence in the percutaneous ablation of primary lesions of the liver with special focus on how AI can impact in the treatment of HCC especially on potential advantages on the drawbacks of the conventional technique.

Contrast carotid ultrasound for the detection of unstable plaques with neoangiogenesis: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether contrast ultrasonography can be used to distinguish asymptomatic from symptomatic carotid plaques and provide insight into underlying pathophysiological differences. DESIGN: Contrast carotid ultrasound was performed in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients referred for carotid endarterectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 77 consecutive patients referred for carotid artery evaluation, 64 underwent carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic cerebrovascular disease and 9 underwent urgent surgery for acute neurological deficits with hemiparesis. The endarterectomy specimens were assessed immunohistologically. RESULTS: In all 9 patients undergoing urgent surgery, contrast ultrasonography showed the accumulation of diffuse microbubble contrast at the base of the carotid plaque. This pattern was observed only in 1/64 of the patients undergoing surgery for asymptomatic carotid disease. Immunohistologically staining of the endarterectomy specimens showed that the area of microbubble contrast at the base of the symptomatic plaques was associated with an increased number of small diameter (20-30 microm) microvessels staining for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). CONCLUSIONS: Contrast carotid ultrasonography may allow the identification of microvessels with neoangiogenesis at the base of carotid plaques, and differentiate symptomatic from asymptomatic plaques.