Role of ultrasound in clinical urgency

Abstract

Dear Readers, The December issue of the journal is a monothematic issue on the role of ultrasound in clinical urgency, a theme that offers opportunities to develop the potential of our Society and the aims of the journal itself. It was not our intention to produce a monograph with an exhaustive examination of this topic: more important were the desires to unite the forces of various sectors of the SIUMB in continuing promotion of ongoing education and to stimulate collaboration and mentoring. After lively and sometimes heated discussion with the members of the Urgent Ultrasound Section and the Executive Board, we have identified several topics in this field that seemed especially significant. These were assigned to acknowledged experts in Italy and abroad, and their contributions represent the core of this publication. The project was then publicized (with the valuable aid of Springer) to extend the invitation to a much larger and diversified population of potential authors. The result has been highly gratifying: the issue you are about to browse contains review articles, updates, original research, and case reports written by authors, young and old, with various backgrounds and fields of interest: physicians of course, but also veterinarians and engineers. On behalf of the Society, I would like to express my heart-felt appreciation to everyone who, over the past two and a half years, contributed to this project, generously sacrificing time and energy that might have been spent elsewhere. Our special thanks to our reviewers for their valuable backstage work, which has significantly improved each article (particularly those of younger members of our Society); our editorial secretariat; our translators; Springer Verlag; and last but not least, the authors themselves. The project has already produced at least one positive result: the invaluable experience of working together to expand our professional horizons. Others, I hope, will follow: above all, that our efforts will prove useful and stimulating to you, our readers. Happy reading!