Brachytherapy is a radiation therapy in which radioactive material (radioisotopes) sealed in needles, seeds or wires is placed directly into or near a tumor. Brachytherapy uses ultrasound imaging to visualize the needles for accurate placement of the small seeds or pellets (capsules) directly into e.g., the prostate. Ultrasound imaging allows accurate planning, placement and implantation of the radiation sources. Implantation of the seeds is a minimally invasive procedure.
Radioactive seeds are inserted through the perineum skin (the area between the scrotum and the anus) into the prostate gland. With correct planning, the surgeon can implant the radiation sources for maximum benefits to effective cancer treatment.

See also EchoSeed™, Prostate Ultrasound, Thermotherapy, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, Urologic Ultrasound, Transurethral Sonography.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Inc. was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), a pharmaceutical and related health care products company. Bristol-Myers Squibb sold its medical imaging business in 2007 to the private equity firm Avista Capital Partners for $525 million, as part of its effort to focus on its core pharmaceutical pipeline.
Formed in 1956 as New England Nuclear Corporation (NEN), the company grew to become a leader in the field of diagnostic imaging and later evolved through its transition from NEN to DuPont, followed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging (BMS), and finally named Lantheus Medical Imaging.

Convex transducers are today standard on every new scanner. A convex surface allows the scanning of a larger area with a smaller array. The method of focusing and beam sweeping of a convex or curvilinear / curved array is similar to a linear array transducer, except of the shape of the probe and the sector format of the created image.
The better fit to the body, caused by the curved shape with smaller convex contact surface, and the wider field of view further from the transducer face are advantages in abdominal ultrasound.
However, also a convex array is often too large to image the heart when probing between the ribs. Caused by combining a large field of view with smallest array size, phased array transducers are the best choice in cardiac ultrasound.

See also Curved Transducer.

The dwell time (also called ensemble length or packet size) is the transmitting duration of ultrasonic waves focused at one place or the Doppler samples for each line of sight. The reduction of the dwell time is of use if threshold pressures are exceeded.
The sensitivity to slow flow and accuracy of Doppler measurement increase with longer dwell times. With increased dwell times, the frame rates decrease and the capability of Color Doppler images to depict fast changes in hemodynamics is limited.

The Italian based company is a member of the Bracco Group.
In 1988 Ote-Biomedica Elettronica S.p.A. and the biomedical division of Esacontrol S.p.A. were consolidated into a single company, Esaote Biomedica S.p.A., operating as a division of IRI-Finmeccanica.
In 1987 the company began marketing its products in the United States through Biosound Inc., which it subsequently acquired in 1990.
In the 1990's, the company began to strengthen its presence in Europe, establishing Esaote Biomedica France Sarl and Esaote Biomedica Deutschland GmbH.
In July 1994 business activities and assets of Esaote Biomedica S.p.A. were transferred to the new company Esaote S.p.A.
1995-1998 the Bracco Group becoming the main Esaote shareholder with 50% of the share capital.
In February 1997, Esaote established Esaote China Ltd. located in Hong Kong, and in April 1998 acquired Pie Medical Group, based in Maastricht - The Netherlands, which primarily operates in medical diagnostic ultrasound. Esaote-Pie Medical, is exclusively dedicated to the development and marketing of veterinary diagnostic ultrasound equipment.
GE Healthcare is the exclusive U.S. distributor of devices manufactured by Esaote Biomedica.

'The Esaote Group is a global leader in research, production and marketing of medical diagnostic equipment and related services focused on solving the medical needs of our customers worldwide. With over 16% of its employees actively engaged in Research & Development, Esaote is pursuing new diagnostic technologies to be introduced in international healthcare markets.'

Ultrasound Related Product Lines:
For products dedicated to the veterinarian practice see Esaotes Pie Medical Equipment B.V.
For products distributed in the United States see Biosound Esaote, Inc.

Ultrasound Systems: