History of intraoperative ultrasound

Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) using A-mode or non-real-time B-mode imagi ng started in the 1960s; however, it was not widely accepted mainly because of difficulty in image interpretation. In the late 1970s, IOUS became one of the topics in the surgical communities upon the introduction of high-fre quency real-time B-mode ultrasound. Special probes for operative use were d eveloped. In the 1980s, all over the world the use of IOUS spread to a vari ety of surgical fields, such as hepatobiliary pancreatic surgery, neurosurg ery, and cardiovascular surgery. IOUS changed hepatic surgery dramatically because IOUS was the only modality that was capable of delineating and exam ining the interior of the liver during surgery. After 1990, color Doppler i maging and laparoscopic ultrasound were incorporated into IOUS. Currently, IOUS is considered an indispensable operative procedure for intraoperative decision-making and guidance of surgical procedures. For better surgical pr actice, education of surgeons in the use of ultrasound is the most importan t issue. (C) 1998 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.