Ultrasound Elastography Using Carotid Artery Pulsation in the Differential Diagnosis of Sonographically Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of gray-scale ultrasound and a new method of thyroid ultrasound elastography using carotid artery pulsation in the differential diagnosis of sonographically indeterminate thyroid nodules. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A total of 102 thyroid nodules with indeterminate gray-scale ultrasound features from 102 patients (20 males and 82 females; age range, 16–74 years; mean age, 51 years) were included. The gray-scale ultrasound images of each nodule were reviewed and assigned a score from 1 (low) to 5 (high) according to the possibility of malignancy. Ultrasound elastography was performed using carotid pulsation as the compression source. The elasticity contrast index (ECI), which quantifies local strain contrast within a nodule, was automatically calculated. The radiologist reassessed the scores after concurrently reviewing gray-scale ultrasound and elastography. ROC curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic performances of eac...