Abdominal Region Applications of Elastography

disease. Moreover, the evolution of stiffness, measured by the shear wave technique, brings information about the response rate to cancer treatment. In thyroid nodular disease, elastography aids diagnostic prediction of thyroid cancer, as most thyroid cancers are stiff. The method is also important in the evaluation of diffuse thyroid pathology, with suggestive stiffness in autoimmune thyroid disease cases, both in adults and children. In hyperparathyroidism cases, elastography helps discriminate

Shear wave elastography demonstrates promising results in evaluating chronic muscle injuries, evaluating the degree of fibrosis, and the stage of healing after acute injuries. The same characteristics are described even in the pediatric population, monitoring the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, altering the approach, or deciding the

I would like to thank my co-editor Professor Alina Popescu for the effort in gathering this team of experts with tremendous experience in the field of elastography. I would like to thank all the authors for their excellent work. All the authors are active both in the clinical field and in the academic milieu, and time is one of the most valuable assets that they have. I am grateful for the time they spent developing their excellent contributions. Finally, I would like to thank the team at IntechOpen for their constant

**Dana Stoian**

COE WFUMB,

**Alina Popescu**

Timisoara, Romania

Timisoara, Romania

Department of Internal Medicine, Discipline of Endocrinology,

Department of Internal Medicine II,

WFUMB Center of Education,

"Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy,

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology,

"Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy,

Center for Advanced Research in Gastroenterology and Hepatology,

parathyroid versus thyroid tissue, showing promising results in identifying

hyperplastic versus hypertrophic tissue.

treatment duration.

support in developing this book.
