Vertical Artifacts in Lung Ultrasonography: Some Common Clinician Questions and the Related Engineer Answers.

Marcello Demi,Gino Soldati,Natalia Buda

doi:10.3390/diagnostics12010215

Marcello Demi, Gino Soldati + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12010215

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Abstract

Introduction: Vertical artifacts, including B lines, are frequently seen in a variety of lung diseases. Their sonomorphology varies in length, width, shape, and internal reverberations. The reason for this diversity is still unknown and is the cause of discussion between clinicians and ultrasound physics engineers. Aim: The aim of this work is to sum up the most common clinician observations and provide an explanation to each of them derived from ultrasound physics. Materials and Methods: Based on clinical and engineering experiences as well as data collected from relevant literature, the sonomorphology of vertical artifacts was analyzed. Thirteen questions and answers were prepared on the common sonomorphology of vertical artifacts, current nomenclature, and clinical observations. Conclusions: From a clinical standpoint, the analysis of vertical artifacts is very important and requires that further clinical studies be conducted in cooperation with engineers who specialize in physics.

Highlights

Vertical artifacts, including B lines, are frequently seen in a variety of lung diseases
Varied etiology and pathophysiology of diseases that involve the interstitial space and alveoli result in the presence of vertical artifacts, termed B lines, which can be viewed on the display monitor of the ultrasound machine
A comparison between US images obtained on the same patient with different imaging parameters is needed to make the artifactual information significant

Summary

Introduction

Vertical artifacts, including B lines, are frequently seen in a variety of lung diseases. Their sonomorphology varies in length, width, shape, and internal reverberations. The reason for this diversity is still unknown and is the cause of discussion between clinicians and ultrasound physics engineers. Conclusions: From a clinical standpoint, the analysis of vertical artifacts is very important and requires that further clinical studies be conducted in cooperation with engineers who specialize in physics. Varied etiology and pathophysiology of diseases that involve the interstitial space and alveoli result in the presence of vertical artifacts, termed B lines, which can be viewed on the display monitor of the ultrasound machine. This publication presents the discussion between two clinicians and a physics engineer as regards the differences in the sonomorphology of vertical artifacts and the impact of physical factors and ultrasound machine settings on vertical artifacts

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