Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data

Research Interviewing: Context and Narrative

Neurons of the cerebral neocortex in mammals, including humans, are generated during fetal life in the proliferative zones and then migrate to their final destinations by following an inside-to-outside sequence. The present study examined the effect of ultrasound waves (USW) on neuronal position within the embryonic cerebral cortex in mice. We used a single BrdU injection to label neurons generated at embryonic day 16 and destined for the superficial cortical layers. Our analysis of over 335 animals reveals that, when exposed to USW for a total of 30 min or longer during the period of their migration, a small but statistically significant number of neurons fail to acquire their proper position and remain scattered within inappropriate cortical layers and/or in the subjacent white matter. The magnitude of dispersion of labeled neurons was variable but systematically increased with duration of exposure to USW. These results call for a further investigation in larger and slower-developing brains of non-human primates and continued scrutiny of unnecessarily long prenatal ultrasound exposure.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/103/34/12903.full.pdf

Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice

Ultrasound is widely used for medical diagnosis and increasingly for therapeutic purposes. An understanding of the bio-effects of sonography is important for clinicians and scientists working in the field because permanent damage to biological tissues can occur at high levels of exposure. Here the underlying principles of thermal mechanisms and the physical interactions of ultrasound with biological tissues are reviewed. Adverse health effects derived from cellular studies, animal studies and clinical reports are reviewed to provide insight into the in vitro and in vivo bio-effects of ultrasound.

Mechanical and Biological Effects of Ultrasound: A Review of Present Knowledge.

Doppler ultrasound, ultrasound M-mode analysis, fetal electrocardiography, and fetal magnetocardiography are methods by which the fetal heart can be monitored non-invasively. In this paper, they are evaluated and compared. Customarily, it is solely the fetal heart rate, which is monitored using the Doppler ultrasound technique since it is both simple to use and cheap. However, this method inherently produces an averaged heart rate and therefore cannot give the beat-to-beat variability. Fetal electrocardiography has similar advantages, but in addition offers the potential for monitoring beat-to-beat variability and performing electrocardiogram morphological analysis. Its disadvantage is that its reliability is only 60%, although it is the only technique that offers truly long-term ambulatory monitoring. Ultrasound M-mode analysis allows a estimation of atrial and ventricular coordination, as well as an estimation of PR intervals. Bradycardias, supraventricular tachycardias, extra systoles are readily diagnosed using this method although timing will be inaccurate. Fetal magnetocardiograms can be detected reliably and used for accurate beat-to-beat measurements and morphological analysis. Consequently, they can be used for the classification of arrhythmias and the diagnosis of a long QT syndrome and some congenital heart diseases.

Monitoring the fetal heart non-invasively: a review of methods.

https://www.radiographyonline.com/article/S1078-8174(02)90379-2/pdf

Significant factors in patient satisfaction ratings of screening mammography

Diagnostic ultrasound induces change within numbers of cryptal mitotic and apoptotic cells in small intestine.

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss the reported impact of a fully problem-based learning (PBL) master’s program on the way graduates worked with patients and colleagues in Ireland. These graduates had completed a sixteen-month fully PBL master’s in sonography while concurrently working in clinical practice. Semi-structured telephone interviews were used to collect qualitative data from graduates of the PBL program. PBL graduates reported four notable changes in their approach to clinical practice following the PBL MSc ultrasound program: (1) thinking more before, during, and after clinical practice; (2) more effective communication with patients; (3) improved communication with colleagues; and (4) an increase in proactivity in clinical practice. The transfer of skills developed during the PBL program, as reported by sonography graduates, led to the development of more patient-centered, evidence-based, proactive clinical practice.

/pdf/the-transfer-of-problem-based-learning-skills-to-clinical-4q41ze7d6x.pdf

The Transfer of Problem-Based Learning Skills to Clinical Practice.

In obstetrics, antenatal ultrasound assessment of placental morphology comprises an important part of the estimation of
fetal health. Ultrasound analysis of the placenta may reveal abnormalities such as placental calcification and infarcts.
Current methods of quantification of these abnormalities are subjective and involve a grading system of Grannum stages
I-III. The aim of this project is to develop a software tool that quantifies semi-automatically placental ultrasound images
and facilitates the assessment of placental morphology. We have developed a 2D ultrasound imaging software tool that
allows the obstetrician or sonographer to define the placental region of interest. A secondary reference map is created for
use in our quantification algorithm. Using a slider technique the user can easily define an upper threshold based on high
intensity for calcification classification and a lower threshold to define infarction regions based on low intensity within
the defined region of interest. The percentage of the placental area that is calcified and also the percentage of infarction is
calculated and this is the basis of our new metric. Ultrasound images of abnormal and normal placentas have been
acquired to aid our software development. A full clinical prospective evaluation is currently being performed and we are
currently applying this technology to the three-dimensional ultrasound domain. We have developed a novel software-based
technique for calculating the extent of placental calcification and infarction, providing a new metric in this field.
Our new metric may provide a more accurate measurement of placental calcification and infarction than current
techniques.

A novel software-based technique for quantifying placental calcifications and infarctions from ultrasound

https://www.radiographyonline.com/article/S1078-8174(98)80043-6/pdf

M. Stanton

Papers

Significant factors in patient satisfaction ratings of screening mammography

Diagnostic ultrasound induces change within numbers of cryptal mitotic and apoptotic cells in small intestine.

The Transfer of Problem-Based Learning Skills to Clinical Practice.

A novel software-based technique for quantifying placental calcifications and infarctions from ultrasound

Communication and counselling oncology patients—are diagnostic radiographers adequately supported in this role?