Guest Editors’ introduction

Excerpt

For many years ultrasonography (US) of the pancreas has been considered an important diagnostic imaging modality, although with significant limitations owing to technical problems, i.e., low constrast and spatial resolution, or patient-related problems, i.e., meteorism and obesity. Many of these limitations have been overcome by technological advances in US that have had a positive impact on the study of the pancreas, as for many other organs. Significant advances have occurred in conventional, harmonic, and Doppler imaging. Currently, in the great majority of cases, all portions of the normal pancreas can be visualized. Peripancreatic vessels are adequately visualized with conventional and Doppler imaging or with new advanced techniques. Therefore pancreatic pathologies can be adequately examined and pancreatic tumors, even if very small in diameter (e.g., insulinoma), can be detected with increasing accuracy. …