TITLE:
Review of Emerging Technologies in Pelvic Floor Ultrasonography
AUTHORS:
Laura De Marzi, Yael Baumfeld, Qi Wei, S. Abbas Shobeiri
KEYWORDS:
Pelvic Floor Ultrasonography, Volume Render Mode, Fusion Imaging, Motion Tracking, Elastography, Manometry
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.12 No.5,
May
12,
2022
ABSTRACT: Pelvic floor dysfunction is a common morbidity with
a negative impact on quality of life. These disorders include multiple clinical
conditions which range from urinary and defecatory disorders to sexual
disorders, affecting 24% of women. Since the pelvic floor is one of the most
complex regions in the human body, in order to perform an accurate diagnosis,
it is important to combine history taking, physical examination and imaging.
While in the past, diagnosis of pelvic floor dysfunction was done using history
taking and physical examination alone, it had been recognized the need for
imaging as well. In the last decades different imaging modalities have been in
use, including magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scanning
and, nowadays, the use of ultrasonography is gaining popularity. Ultrasound
technology is evolving, with technology for 3D, 4D, Doppler and more, making it
optimal for pelvic floor imaging. In this paper we review the different
ultrasound modalities for pelvic floor imaging. The purpose of this review is
to introduce the emerging ultrasound technologies for pelvic floor imaging
including volume render mode, fusion imaging, framing, motion tracking and
color vector mapping and elastography. The different ultrasonography modalities
have resulted to be very useful for the diagnosis and assessment of pelvic
floor dysfunctions, they are characterized by availability, short time, low
cost, and radiation free. However, the effectiveness of the analysis is
operator-dependent.