Research Article

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography for Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Thyroid Lesions: Single-Institutional Prospective Study of Qualitative and Quantitative CEUS Characteristics

Table 3

Detailed description of quantitative parameters of CEUS.

Quantitative parameters of CEUSDescription

Basic measurement
Peak intensity (PI) (dB)A parameter corresponding to the maximum achieved intensity
Time to peak (TTP)(sec)Time from the moment of the contrast medium administration until the maximum intensity value is reached
Time from peak to one half (TFPTOH)(sec)Time from the peak-intensity value to the half value of peak intensity during the wash-out period
Wash-in slope (WIS)(dB/sec)A parameter represents how fast the contrast agent fills the selected region, indicating vascularization
Derived indices
PI indexThe ratio between the PI values from the ROI of the nodule and the ROI of surrounding thyroid tissue
TTP indexThe ratio between the TTP values from the ROI of the nodule and the ROI of surrounding thyroid tissue
TFPTOH indexThe ratio between the TFPTOH values from the ROI of the nodule and the ROI of surrounding thyroid tissue
WIS indexThe ratio between the WIS values from the ROI of the nodule and the ROI of surrounding thyroid tissue
Additional parameters
Echo mean—lesion peakEcho mean in lesion at the time of peak
Echo mean—surrounding parenchymaEcho mean in surrounding tissue at the time of peak
Echo standard deviation—lesion peakEcho standard deviation in lesion at the time of peak
Echo standard deviation—surrounding parenchymaEcho standard deviation in surrounding tissue at the time of peak
Heterogeneity parameters
HVpHeterogeneity value at the time of peak
HRpHeterogeneity ratio at the time of peak