Diagnosis of Ovarian Masses before and after Ultrasound Imaging and Tissue Characterization

A polycystic ovary case was diagnosed by subjective vaginal examination and reported in 1959. Real-time B-mode was common in 1980s, where ovarian masses were diagnosed objectively, while malignancy was diagnosed with image patterns of ovarian masses. Thus, ultrasonic tissue characterization was intended, while it needed particular computer and software, which made it unable to use in common clinic. Maeda intended to apply echogenicity histogram of common B-mode devices and created gray-level histogram width (GLHW) and reported in 1998, and Khaile applied it to the diagnosis of malignant ovarian masses. Mean GLHW of 5 connecting ROIs was significantly larger in malignant masses than benign, while the coefficient of variation (CV) of GLHWs was significantly smaller in malignancy than benign masses. Thus, malignant ovarian masses were diagnosed by GLHW analysis.