Abstract
U. I. OCTOSON improved by G. Kossoff is a full automatic water-coupling compound ultra-sonic echoscope. Eight transducers are located on the scanning arm submerged below a membrane. Patient lies prone on the membrane and ultrasonic beams are running through the water-bath. Ultrasonic beams are pulsed in sequence from each transducer (from 1 to 8) for each 0.5 msec so that 8 lines of sight are laid down for each 0.1° of sector movement of the transducers. Then the compound images are formed immediately in high quality grey scale echograms. Two hundred and sixteen cases were studied on experiences with Octoson echoscope. Details of these cases were as follows: gynecological disease (37%), digestive disease (32.90%), disease of mammary gland (24.2%), cardiovascular disease (2%) and urological disease(2%).
The rate of accuracy for diagnosis in gynecological disease, such as decision of abnor-malities in the position between placenta and fetus, hydatiden mole, ovarian tumor and myoma uteri was fairly high. It was also high in digestive disease, such as cholelithiasis, intra-hepatic tumor and hepatomegaly. Octoson was very useful for the diagnosis of cholelithiasis even in negative cases of DIC (drip infusion cholecystography). It was also useful for the diagnosis of breast tumor, aortic aneurysm and renal tumor.
Octoson provided with water-coupling allows the use of large aperture. Using the combination of eight transducers, both compound and simple scanning are possible. And high quality grey scale echogram is mechanically and continuously obtained without skillful-ness.
Octoson has been used broadly in many medical fields. The rate of accuracy for the diagnosis of it was good compared with that of manual contract compound scanning but it is less convenient in point of control of transducer's position.
There are a few of problems remained to be solved in the examination of Octoson. There is limits to examination time due to the aged and/or condition of the patient. Since the patients' position is prone in almost all cases, it is difficult to keep the same position during examination.
Hewever if correspondence with X-ray, CT (computerlized tomography), RI (radioisotope) and so on would be definite in future, Octoson would paly a more important role in the universal image diagnosis.
