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Diagnostics
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Ultrasound Imaging in Medicine in 2026
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Ultrasound Imaging in Medicine in 2026

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 3270

Editor

Prof. Dr. Michael Bachmann Nielsen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Interests: diagnostic radiology; cancer imaging; medical ultrasound; Doppler techniques; CT-scanning; medical presentations; musculoskeletal imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ultrasound examinations are performed within almost all medical specialties and are of paramount value in clinical medicine and as research tools. Diagnostic ultrasounds as well as ultrasound guidance for biopsy, drainage and tumor ablation have become an integral part of clinical settings. The last ten years have seen an increase in new ultrasound techniques such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), elastography techniques, 3D ultrasound, image fusion with ultrasound and methods for flow visualization such as the vector Doppler method. In terms of technical aspects, transducer technology has also evolved tremendously. This Special Issue invites submissions of both original and review papers, as well as technical and clinical papers, pertaining to all aspects of ultrasound imaging.

Prof. Dr. Michael Bachmann Nielsen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 3D ultrasound
  • blood flow velocity
  • ultrasonography
  • contrast-enhanced ultrasound
  • elasticity imaging
  • endoscopic ultrasound
  • intervention

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

17 pages, 15267 KB  
Review
Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Carotid Plaque Characterization: An Algorithm-Aware Technical Review
by Nicola Morelli, Marco Spallazzi, Marina Biondi, Eugenia Rota, Lucia Mazza, Paolo Immovilli and Davide Colombi
Diagnostics 2026, 16(12), 1808; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16121808 - 11 Jun 2026
Viewed by 286
Abstract
Carotid artery disease has traditionally been assessed according to luminal stenosis, although plaques with similar narrowing may differ substantially in biological activity and clinical risk. Intraplaque neovascularization is a key feature of plaque vulnerability, reflecting microvascular proliferation and its association with inflammation, hemorrhage, [...] Read more.
Carotid artery disease has traditionally been assessed according to luminal stenosis, although plaques with similar narrowing may differ substantially in biological activity and clinical risk. Intraplaque neovascularization is a key feature of plaque vulnerability, reflecting microvascular proliferation and its association with inflammation, hemorrhage, and structural destabilization. Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) offers a real-time, radiation-free method for evaluating intraplaque enhancement kinetics using strictly intravascular microbubble agents. However, its broader use in carotid plaque imaging remains limited by variability in acquisition protocols, contrast administration, signal processing, curve fitting, and parameter interpretation. This technical review clarifies the main analytical approaches used in carotid DCE-US, distinguishing bolus-based wash-in/wash-out analysis from destruction–replenishment modeling. Bolus analysis describes first-pass microbubble transit through the plaque microvasculature and commonly provides parameters such as peak intensity, wash-in slope, area under the curve, and time to peak. Destruction–replenishment analysis evaluates post-destruction refill under stable or quasi-stable contrast conditions and relies on model-based estimation of plateau intensity and the replenishment rate. Because these approaches interrogate different kinetic regimes, their outputs should not be considered interchangeable, even when similar terms are used across studies. Particular emphasis is placed on the operational meaning of quantitative and semi-quantitative parameters, the assumptions underlying curve modeling, and the methodological consequences of ROI placement, motion correction, acoustic settings, and fitting constraints. Rather than proposing a universal acquisition protocol, this article provides practical principles for acquisition, analysis, and reporting, helping radiologists, neuroradiologists, neurologists, and vascular imaging specialists understand the processing steps, algorithmic assumptions, and model-dependent choices underlying software-derived curves and parameters. By making this analytical layer more explicit, the review seeks to support a transparent, reproducible, and biologically coherent approach to quantitative carotid plaque characterization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound Imaging in Medicine in 2026)
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32 pages, 10352 KB  
Review
Ultrasound-Based Techniques for Visualization of Dermal Microvasculature: A Scoping Review
by Rikke Baarts, Alexander Cuculiza Henriksen, Nathalie Sarup Panduro, Emma Kanchana Ertner Bengtsson, Ali Salari, Caroline Clausen, Lisbet Rosenkrantz Hölmich, Lars Lönn, Charlotte Mehlin Sørensen, Jørgen Arendt Jensen and Michael Bachmann Nielsen
Diagnostics 2026, 16(10), 1435; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16101435 - 8 May 2026
Viewed by 2505
Abstract
Objectives: To systematically map the existing literature on ultrasound-based techniques for non-invasive visualization of the dermal microvasculature and identify methodological strengths, limitations, and evidence gaps. Methods: This scoping review was conducted according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines and registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: [...] Read more.
Objectives: To systematically map the existing literature on ultrasound-based techniques for non-invasive visualization of the dermal microvasculature and identify methodological strengths, limitations, and evidence gaps. Methods: This scoping review was conducted according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines and registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/7VDUK). MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched (January 2000–October 2025). Studies involving human participants and ultrasound-based techniques explicitly aimed at visualizing dermal microvasculature were included. Data on study design, population characteristics, imaging parameters, and reported outcomes were extracted and synthesized narratively. Results: Thirty-six studies published between 2007 and 2025 were included. Most were small feasibility or experimental studies (n = 24), with a median sample size of three participants and substantial heterogeneity in imaging protocols. Photoacoustic-based techniques were most frequently reported (n = 21) and were the most consistently described as providing high microvascular detail and functional assessment capability. High-frequency ultrasound (n = 10) and advanced Doppler methods (n = 7) also enabled visualization of dermal vessels, but showed variability in sensitivity, reporting, and standardization. Validation against histopathology was reported in only one study. Conclusions: Ultrasound-based techniques can visualize dermal microvasculature in vivo; however, evidence remains fragmented, methodologically heterogeneous, and largely derived from small exploratory studies. Standardized imaging protocols, pathology-based clinical cohorts and robust validation studies are required to establish comparative performance and enable clinical translation in radiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound Imaging in Medicine in 2026)
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