Ultrasound Department I

I. Overview:

From 1988 to 2020, having developed from the Ultrasound Diagnostic Room, Ultrasound Department I has now become a comprehensive diagnostic and treatment department integrating medical care, education, and research. It performs ultrasound diagnosis and interventional treatment for all parts of the body, including systematic examinations of the heart, abdomen, gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels, small organs, musculoskeletal system, intracavitary ultrasound, and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Its specialties include whole-breast-volume imaging, musculoskeletal ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and interventional ultrasound.

At the department’s establishment in 1988, there were only 7 medical staff members, including 1 with an associate senior professional title, 1 lecturer, 2 technicians with an intermediate professional title, and 3 teaching assistants. After more than 30 years of continuous development and expansion, by 2020 the department had 32 staff members, including 19 physicians, 12 support staff, and 1 nurse-in-charge. The physicians on duty included 2 with senior professional titles, 10 with associate senior professional titles, 3 with intermediate professional titles, and 4 with junior professional titles; 16 held master’s degrees and 2 held doctoral degrees.

With the continuous development of the times and advances in science and technology, Ultrasound Department I has also kept pace with the times in updating its diagnostic and treatment equipment. From only 3 black-and-white B-ultrasound units in 1988 (including 1 portable unit) and 2 A-mode ultrasound units, by 2020 it had 15 internationally advanced whole-body color Doppler ultrasound systems, including the Toshiba aplio900, Siemens ACUSON S2000 ABVS, and Hitachi HI VISIN Avius.

Approximately 20,000 patient visits were diagnosed and treated in 1988, compared with approximately 200,000 patient visits in 2019.

II. Professional and Technical Development

With the goal of building a first-class academic and research team, Ultrasound Department I continuously follows new academic advances and cutting-edge developments in ultrasound at home and abroad, and constantly studies, introduces, and implements new technologies and methods, such as ultrasound ablation therapy and ultrasound-guided treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. On the basis of improving theoretical knowledge, the department regularly organizes staff training and participates in and holds professional academic activities inside and outside the hospital, continuously improving the team’s professional level. In practice, it actively collaborates with relevant clinical departments and participates in integrated treatment programs involving multiple disciplines. Through unremitting efforts, it has achieved notable results, especially in the diagnosis and prognosis assessment of patients with stroke and the preoperative and postoperative assessment of breast tumors.

Milestones in Professional and Technical Development:

1996: Interventional ultrasound was introduced, and ultrasound-guided biopsy technology was applied to organs throughout the body. At the same time, internationally advanced ultrasound-guided minimally invasive procedures were introduced, including ultrasound-guided interventional treatment of cystic lesions such as hepatic cysts, renal cysts, ovarian cysts, and liver abscesses, as well as ultrasound-guided cholecystostomy and other treatments.

2001: The department took the lead in the province in applying contrast-enhanced ultrasound to the diagnosis and interventional treatment of liver cancer.

2003: Transrectal color Doppler ultrasound was introduced for accurate diagnosis of rectal cancer, rectal leiomyoma, the prostate, seminal vesicle tumors and inflammatory changes, bladder cancer, bladder polyps, and 义务 and other lesions; suspicious lesions could undergo accurate transrectal ultrasound-guided puncture.

2005: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was introduced for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

2008: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was introduced for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

2013: Whole-breast-volume imaging examinations were introduced. Ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy was performed for suspicious lesions, enabling accurate preoperative diagnosis and assessment of patients with breast diseases.

2014: Three-dimensional cardiac examinations were introduced, opening a new milestone in cardiac ultrasound.

2016: Ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation of thyroid and liver tumors was introduced. Musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound-guided treatment of musculoskeletal diseases were also introduced. Gastrointestinal ultrasound examinations were also initiated, providing convenient, painless examinations for the general patient population, especially pediatric and debilitated patients.

2017: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries was introduced, providing important guidance for the diagnosis and clinical treatment of patients with carotid artery disease. The department also became a member department of the hospital’s Advanced Stroke Center.

2018: The department participated in the development of the Breast Multidisciplinary Integrated Diagnosis and Treatment Center, providing systematic preoperative and postoperative evaluation for patients with breast diseases.

2019: Ultrasound-guided transrectal radiofrequency ablation of prostate nodules was introduced. As a minimally invasive treatment method, it greatly reduced patients’ treatment-related suffering. Neonatal ultrasound was introduced to support the treatment of this special patient group. The department became the only Siemens ABVS demonstration laboratory in Northeast China.

2020: Several physicians from the department participated in frontline diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

III. Teaching Achievements

The department has deeply implemented the integration of education and research. Each year, it undertakes teaching in diagnostic ultrasonography for five-year and seven-year students, graduate students, and international students at Dalian Medical University. It fully leverages its clinical diagnosis and treatment experience, integrating theory with practice to lay a solid foundation for students during their studies. For many consecutive years, the department team has guided graduate students in skills competitions; in 2018, it won first prize in the Liaoning Province Resident Physician Training Ultrasound Professional Competency Competition. All department physicians have obtained teaching qualifications; among them, 3 are master’s supervisors. Each year, the department trains more than 20 graduate students and visiting trainees.

IV. Research Expertise

In recent years, the department has led or participated in more than 30 national, provincial, and municipal research projects and has published nearly 200 papers in SCI-indexed and core journals.

In recent years, its main research areas have included evaluation of the benign or malignant nature of breast masses using whole-breast-volume imaging; contrast-enhanced ultrasound evaluation of the stability of carotid atherosclerotic plaques; application of musculoskeletal ultrasound in the diagnosis and treatment of acute traumatic diseases and rheumatic diseases; ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation of prostate tumors; evaluation by contrast-enhanced ultrasound of outcomes in patients after abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery; and preoperative and postoperative ultrasound evaluation of vascular stents for lower-extremity atherosclerosis. These efforts have fully addressed gaps in examinations in clinical diagnosis and treatment and helped clinicians solve problems. Multiple new technologies and research projects of the department have received national, provincial, and municipal science and technology progress awards.

V. Departmental Honors

In 2018, the department won first prize in the Liaoning Province Resident Physician Training Ultrasound Professional Competency Competition.

From 1988 to 2020, it received national, provincial, and municipal science and technology progress awards 10 times.

From 1988 to 2020, it was recognized multiple times as an advanced department of the hospital.

All staff of Ultrasound Department I follow the medical motto “Patients first, thorough and attentive care.” Guided by the belief that “service and creativity mean doing everything well,” they put the concept of “patient-centered care” into practice, regard medical quality as their lifeblood, work diligently to pursue excellence, continuously innovate, and wholeheartedly provide the general patient population with superb diagnostic technology and high-quality services.