Ultrasound imaging for the rheumatologist

E. Filippucci¹, A. Iagnocco², G. Meenagh³, L. Riente⁴, A. Delle Sedie⁴, S. Bombardieri⁴, G. Valesini², W. Grassi¹

¹Cattedra di Reumatologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Jesi, Italy; ²Cattedra di Reumatologia, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy; ³Department of Rheumatology, Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, UK; ⁴Unità Operativa di Reumatologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

ABSTRACT

Over the last few years, technological advances have resulted in dramatic improvements in quality and resolution of ultrasonography (US), allowing it to become a very powerful tool in rheumatological clinical practice. Despite the fact that the impact of US on final diagnosis or therapeutic options for rheumatic patients has not yet been defined, there is now growing evidence that US improves clinical diagnosis and intervention skills. This review discusses the most important issues connected with the practice of US in rheumatology including: basic requirements, scanning technique, clinical applications, training and future developments. Moreover, it provides a general overview of both US anatomy and pathology relevant for the rheumatologist.

Key words

Ultrasonography, scanning technique, clinical applications, training.

Please address correspondence to: Prof. Walter Grassi,

Cattedra di Reumatologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ospedale “A. Murri”, Via dei Colli 52, 60035 Jesi (AN), Italy.

E-mail: walter.grassi@univpm.it

Clin Exp Rheumatol 2006; 24: 1-5.

© CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RHEUMATOLOGY 2006.