Application of rotating EUS micro-probes for deep penetration of upper gastrointestinal tract

The subject of the paper is devoted to a modern diagnostic method called endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). In many countries, the diagnostic attributes of EUS still need to be more widely spread among physicians and clinical engineers in health-care fields. In the paper EUS advantages and limitations are discussed on the basis of several examples of real interventions practiced by the authors. All images reported in the paper concern using EUS to assist the minimally invasive diagnostics and surgery processes made on the upper parts of the intestinal tract. Real interventions were assisted by EUS performed with a rotating micro-probe inserted through the endoscopic operating channel. Improving combined imaging of the operation site allowed evaluating the degree to which the cancer formation has spread beyond the tract wall and detecting lesions as small as 1 to 3 mm.