Hu Yugang, Lei Yumeng, Yu Meihui, Zhang Yao, Huang Xingyue, Zhang Ge, Deng Qing
Department of Ultrasound Imaging, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430061, China.
Department of Medical Ultrasound, China Resources & Wisco General Hospital, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430080, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Aug 17;10(16):e36515. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36515. eCollection 2024 Aug 30.
The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and practical application of ultrasound (US) super-resolution imaging (SRI) in evaluating microvasculature and measuring renal allograft function.
Sixteen consecutive patients who received kidney transplants were prospectively enrolled. The patients were assigned as: normal allograft function (n = 6), and allograft malfunction (n = 10). Localizing each potential contrast signal resulted in super-resolution images (SRI). SRI was utilized to assess micro-vessel density (MVD) and microvascular flow rate, whereas contrast-enhanced (CE) US images were statistically processed to get the time to peak (TTP) and peak intensity. Logistic regression was utilized to evaluate their relationship.
US SRI may be utilized effectively on allografts to show microvasculature with significantly higher resolution than typical color Doppler flow and CEUS pictures. In the multivariate analysis, MVD and TTP were significant US markers of renal allograft failure (p = 0.031 and p = 0.045). The combination of MVD and TTP produced an AUC of 0.783 (p < 0.05) for allograft dysfunction.
SRI can accurately portray the microvasculature of renal allografts, while MVD and TTP are appropriate US markers for assessing renal allograft failure.
本研究的目的是探讨超声（US）超分辨率成像（SRI）在评估微血管和测量肾移植功能方面的可行性及实际应用。
前瞻性纳入16例连续接受肾移植的患者。患者被分为：移植肾功能正常组（n = 6）和移植肾功能不全组（n = 10）。定位每个潜在的对比信号可生成超分辨率图像（SRI）。利用SRI评估微血管密度（MVD）和微血管流速，而对对比增强（CE）US图像进行统计学处理以获得达峰时间（TTP）和峰值强度。采用逻辑回归评估它们之间的关系。
US SRI可有效地用于移植肾，以显示微血管，其分辨率明显高于典型的彩色多普勒血流图和CEUS图像。在多变量分析中，MVD和TTP是肾移植失败的重要US标志物（p = 0.031和p = 0.045）。MVD和TTP的联合对移植肾功能不全的诊断曲线下面积（AUC）为0.783（p < 0.05）。
SRI能够准确描绘肾移植的微血管，而MVD和TTP是评估肾移植失败的合适US标志物。
