Ultrasound

1. Basic Overview of the Specialty, Qualifications and Honors The Department of Ultrasound Medicine of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated with Xiamen University is a key specialty of Xiamen Medical Center and the host institution of the Xiamen Ultrasound Quality Control Center. It also houses the Institute of Medical Imaging of the School of Medicine of Xiamen University, the Fujian Provincial Ultrasound Medicine Training Base, and the National Standardized Residency Training Base, and serves as the host institution of the Ultrasound Medicine Expert Committee of the Cross-Strait Association for Medicine and Health Exchange. The department resumed operations and opened for consultations on July 1, 1988. In its early stage, the Ultrasound Department focused mainly on routine abdominal and cardiac ultrasound, with its equipment and technology gradually improving. In the early 1990s, the department had begun to take shape and carried out routine ultrasound diagnosis of the abdomen, obstetrics and gynecology, small organs, and the cardiovascular system. In 1994, it took the lead in Xiamen in performing ultrasound-guided automatic biopsy, laying the foundation for interventional ultrasound; it has accumulated experience with several thousand biopsies to date. In 1998, Chen Jianghua, a key talent introduced by Xiamen who later became department director, joined the department and promoted the rapid development of cardiac ultrasound and interventional technology. Interventional ultrasound, including cyst sclerotherapy, puncture drainage, and tumor ablation, has been continuously performed for more than 20 years and has become a core specialty of the department. In 2005, the hospital became the first affiliated hospital of Xiamen University, and the Ultrasound Department was simultaneously incorporated into the system of university-affiliated hospitals, with its teaching and research functions strengthened. After 2006, the department began performing transesophageal echocardiography, fetal echocardiography, and intraoperative ultrasound monitoring, including congenital heart defect closure and valve surgery, and cardiac ultrasound reached an advanced level within Fujian Province. In 2011, the department hosted the Third High-Level Forum on Ultrasound Medicine across the Taiwan Strait and the three regions; it became the Fujian Provincial Ultrasound Training Base and the Xiamen Ultrasound Quality Control Center, further enhancing its academic influence. Over the years, the department has pursued precision, minimally invasive care, and intelligent medicine, strengthened its subspecialty system and service capacity, and, starting in 2026, has provided services 365 days a year without closing, with ultrasound examinations fully available on weekends and public holidays and routine examinations completed within 24 hours. In 2026, the First Symposium on Ultrasound and Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Diseases was inaugurated, promoting the standardization of pelvic floor ultrasound and MDT diagnosis and treatment. The department is a comprehensive ultrasound medicine specialty integrating ultrasound diagnosis, interventional treatment, teaching and training, and scientific research and innovation. 2. Core Diagnostic and Treatment Scope The department is equipped with more than 40 color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic systems from internationally renowned brands. It performs more than 280,000 examinations annually. Its diagnostic and treatment services cover ultrasound examinations and interventional diagnosis and treatment of multiple systems throughout the body, supporting the needs of all clinical specialties for ultrasound diagnosis, efficacy assessment, follow-up monitoring, and other applications, and providing reliable ultrasound imaging evidence for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. 3. Specialized Subspecialties and Core Technical Advantages The department has established 8 professional groups covering all dimensions of ultrasound diagnosis and treatment, and routinely performs multiple advanced ultrasound technologies: (1) Cardiac Ultrasound Group routinely performs cardiac speckle tracking, myocardial contrast echocardiography, interventional cardiac ultrasound, and other technologies, providing precise ultrasound support for assessment of cardiac structure and function, diagnosis of myocardial lesions, and perioperative assessment of cardiac interventional procedures. (2) Abdominal Ultrasound Group covers routine ultrasound diagnosis of abdominal solid and hollow organs and performs ultrasound assessment related to one-stop tumor diagnosis, providing support for early screening, diagnosis, and follow-up of abdominal diseases. (3) Interventional Ultrasound Group routinely performs interventional ultrasound diagnosis and treatment technologies such as tumor ablation, enabling minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of diseases. (4) Superficial Organ and Vascular Ultrasound Group routinely provides integrated diagnosis and treatment services for thyroid nodules, covering ultrasound diagnosis and assessment of superficial organs and peripheral blood vessels. (5) Gynecological Ultrasound Group performs specialized technologies such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination of the fallopian tubes, providing ultrasound support for the diagnosis of gynecological diseases and assessment of the reproductive system. (6) Obstetric Ultrasound Group covers ultrasound examination needs at all stages of obstetrics and provides ultrasound imaging support for perinatal care. (7) Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Group routinely performs musculoskeletal ultrasound examinations, providing precise guidance for the diagnosis and interventional treatment of lesions of muscles, bones, joints, nerves, and other structures. (8) Gastrointestinal Ultrasound Group covers ultrasound examinations of the gastrointestinal system and also performs advanced specialized technologies such as pelvic floor ultrasound, pediatric cranial ultrasound, and lung ultrasound to meet the ultrasound diagnosis and treatment needs of special populations and anatomical sites. 4. Multidisciplinary MDT Comprehensive Diagnosis and Treatment and Full-Course Management Relying on its complete subspecialty structure, the department provides integrated and one-stop diagnostic services for thyroid nodules, tumors, and other diseases. It works with relevant clinical specialties to establish a multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment model, providing patients with full-process ultrasound medicine support from disease screening, precise diagnosis, and minimally invasive treatment to follow-up assessment. The main diseases in MDT collaboration involving the Ultrasound Department are: 1. Superficial organs (regular MDT clinics) (1) Thyroid Nodule MDT Clinic Participating departments: Ultrasound Department, General Surgery (thyroid), Endocrinology, and Pathology. Applicable to: TI-RADS4 or above, uncertain nodule characteristics, disputes over whether to perform puncture or surgery, and complex cases combined with hyperthyroidism or Hashimoto disease. (2) Breast Nodule MDT Clinic Participating departments: Breast Surgery, Ultrasound Department, Radiology (mammography/MRI), Pathology, and Medical Oncology. Applicable to: BI-RADS4-5, difficult determination of benign or malignant status, evaluation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and comprehensive preoperative assessment for breast-conserving surgery. 2. Abdominal and Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Tumor MDT Diseases: liver cancer, cirrhotic nodules, pancreatic masses, biliary tract tumors, complex hepatic masses, and retroperitoneal lesions. Collaborating departments: Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Medical Oncology, Interventional Radiology, Radiology, and Pathology. Ultrasound services: conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound assessment; feasibility assessment of ablation and puncture routes; and postoperative follow-up assessment. 3. Cardiovascular and Vascular-Related Difficult MDT Diseases: complex congenital heart disease, difficult intracardiac masses, great-vessel lesions, and complex peripheral vascular lesions. Collaborating departments: Cardiology, Cardiovascular Surgery, and Vascular Surgery. 4. Difficult Obstetrics and Gynecology MDT Diseases: complex pelvic masses, placental abnormalities in high-risk pregnancy, and difficult uterine and ovarian lesions. Collaborating departments: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology, and Pathology. 5. Other Tumor MDT Lung nodules/lung cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, soft-tissue tumors, and difficult lymphadenopathy. Ultrasound participates in the assessment of superficial and abdominal lesions and in determining the feasibility of image-guided biopsy. Complete MDT workflow (in-hospital clinical implementation process): Mode A: Outpatient MDT specialty clinic (thyroid/breast nodules) 1. The outpatient physician performs initial screening; if the patient meets MDT indications, an MDT clinic appointment is arranged. 2. Required preliminary examinations are completed: ultrasound and thyroid function tests/mammography; the patient enters MDT after all materials are complete. 3. On-site MDT clinic: the ultrasound specialist reviews the images on site; multidisciplinary experts jointly interpret the images and issue a comprehensive diagnostic and treatment opinion, including whether follow-up, puncture, surgery, or medication is indicated. 4. A written MDT consultation opinion is issued; the patient returns to the relevant specialty to implement the plan and undergoes regular follow-up. Mode B: Inpatient case MDT conference (tumors and difficult, complex cases) 1. Application initiation: the attending clinical physician, from Surgery or Medical Oncology, submits an MDT application in the HIS, completes the case summary, selects the departments required to attend, including the Ultrasound Department, and submits it to the Medical Affairs Department for approval. 2. Preliminary review of materials: ultrasound report and original images, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, CT/MRI, laboratory tests, and pathology are collected in advance; the MDT secretary distributes them to all participating experts beforehand. 3. At the fixed-time MDT meeting, the attending physician reports the medical history. The ultrasound physician discusses the ultrasound characteristics of the lesion, risk stratification, feasibility of puncture/ablation, and key observations suitable for ultrasound follow-up. Radiology, Pathology, Medical Oncology, Surgery, and other departments discuss in sequence. A unified diagnosis and treatment plan is formulated collectively and recorded in the medical record. 4. Plan: the attending physician implements the MDT conclusions, and the course record fully documents the MDT discussion minutes. A further MDT reassessment may be requested for subsequent re-examination. Mode C: Online Internet MDT, such as for pulmonary nodules. An application is submitted through the Internet Hospital mini-program, ultrasound and imaging materials are uploaded, online multidisciplinary consultation is conducted, and an online consultation report is issued. 5. Talent Team and Expert Strength The department currently has 61 employees, including 42 physicians, 24 of whom hold senior professional titles. It has 2 master's supervisors, 2 doctoral-degree holders, and 31 master's degree holders, forming a professionally trained talent structure with a rational composition and solid technical capabilities. Professor Chang Jiandong, the academic leader, has considerable academic influence in the field of ultrasound in China and Fujian Province. He holds important positions in several professional societies and leads the team in continuously advancing discipline development and technological innovation. 6. Coordinated Development of Medical Care, Education, and Research (1) Medical Services Relying on more than 40 color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic systems from internationally renowned brands, the department completes more than 280,000 examinations annually. The annual volume of ultrasound interventional diagnosis and treatment exceeds 2,000 cases, and the annual volume of contrast-enhanced ultrasound diagnosis and treatment is approximately more than 2,000 cases. Its routine examination programs and advanced technologies cover the ultrasound diagnosis and treatment needs of all clinical specialties. It strictly implements the relevant standards of the Xiamen Ultrasound Quality Control Center and continuously improves examination quality and service efficiency. (2) Teaching and Training As the Fujian Provincial Ultrasound Medicine Training Base and the National Standardized Residency Training Base, the department undertakes teaching tasks for the School of Medicine of Xiamen University and Xiamen Medical College, with annual enrollment of 10-15 people and a total in-training scale of 30-35 people in a rolling 3-year program. 1. Personnel covered: practicing ultrasound physicians and primary-level clinical physicians at county hospitals, township health centers, and community health service centers. 2. Institutions covered: all primary-level public medical institutions throughout the region, relying on support from tertiary Grade A hospitals and full coverage of quality-control supervision. 3. Training content: basic routine ultrasound of the abdomen, thyroid, breast, gynecology, blood vessels, and other areas; standardized operation; report writing; identification of critical values; and referral. 4. Not included: contrast-enhanced ultrasound, interventional procedures, complex cardiac ultrasound, major fetal anomaly screening, and other high-end difficult technologies. 5. Training formats: short-term advanced study, rural outreach teaching, online learning, and assistance through remote consultation. Relying on the platform of the Institute of Medical Imaging of the School of Medicine of Xiamen University, the department continuously trains professionals in ultrasound medicine. Since 2008, as an initiating institution, it has successively held 3 sessions of the “Standardized Echocardiography Training Course,” “Clinical Application Study Course on Musculoskeletal Ultrasound,” “XMU Zhongshan Interventional Ultrasound Academic Conference,” and “Quality Control Study Course on Breast Ultrasound Examination,” promoting standardized ultrasound diagnosis and treatment technologies throughout the region. (3) Scientific Research and Innovation The department currently has 5 projects under study, covering key provincial and municipal directions. 1. Research results are used in the department’s daily diagnosis and treatment, MDT, and interventional ultrasound work. 2. Through standardized residency training and primary-level training, diagnostic and treatment standards are promoted throughout the region’s primary-level institutions. 3. The department has research projects, papers, and some patents, but no patent industrialization transfer has yet taken place. 4. Integration of medicine and engineering and the translation of AI devices need to be strengthened. In recent years, the department has published a total of 15 SCI papers and 30 papers in national core journals, including the Chinese Medical Association series. Its research focuses on thyroid, breast, interventional ultrasound, cardiovascular ultrasound, AI ultrasound diagnosis, and other areas, with continuous output of clinical research papers. The Ultrasound Department is an enrollment site for master's students under qualified supervisors, admitting 2-4 master's students each year and having 6-10 postgraduate students in training. It mainly conducts training in ultrasound clinical medicine, interventional ultrasound, and AI ultrasound-related projects, while simultaneously participating in clinical rotations, case discussions, and MDT. Relying on the platform of the Ultrasound Medicine Expert Committee of the Cross-Strait Association for Medicine and Health Exchange, the department continues to deepen academic exchanges in ultrasound medicine across the Taiwan Strait. 7. Summary of the Department’s Core Advantages First, it has a rich range of qualification and platform levels, with multiple national, provincial, and municipal specialty-development and training platforms; it undertakes citywide ultrasound quality-control functions and has distinctive strengths in cross-Strait academic exchange. Second, its hardware and staffing scale are prominent: its equipment is advanced, its personnel structure is rational, the proportion of staff with senior professional titles is high, and its annual service volume ranks among the leading institutions in the region. Third, its subspecialties have comprehensive coverage: 8 professional groups cover ultrasound diagnosis and treatment of all body systems and can meet the needs of various clinical scenarios. Fourth, its technical system balances routine and advanced care: it covers daily ultrasound diagnostic needs while routinely performing advanced technologies such as tumor ablation, myocardial contrast echocardiography, and integrated diagnosis and treatment of thyroid nodules, thereby integrating diagnosis and treatment. Fifth, it has a solid foundation for academic exchange: academic brands it hosts, such as the “High-Level Forum on Ultrasound Medicine across the Taiwan Strait and the three regions,” have broad influence and continuously promote the improvement of regional ultrasound medicine. 8. Department Vision The department will continue to rely on qualification platforms at all levels, deepen technological innovation and service optimization in ultrasound medicine, continuously improve subspecialty development and talent-team training, deepen cross-Strait academic exchange in ultrasound medicine, continuously raise the level of standardized regional ultrasound diagnosis and treatment, and further strengthen its subspecialties. It will focus on developing interventional ultrasound, superficial organs, and cardiovascular ultrasound, and improve its capabilities in the diagnosis and treatment of difficult cases and MDT. It will improve teaching quality, strengthen standardized residency training, postgraduate training, and primary-level physician training, and build a regional ultrasound talent-training base. It will strengthen clinical research and interdisciplinary medical-engineering collaboration, increase the output of high-level papers and patents, and promote clinical translation of research results. It will leverage the role of the municipal quality-control center, lead regional standardization of ultrasound, and expand the influence of the specialty. It will provide clinicians and patients with higher-quality, more precise, and more efficient ultrasound medicine diagnosis and treatment services.