很有趣的一篇文章，在手術房中進行胸腔手術的11個患者，
手術前和手術中，正好模擬正常和氣胸的情境，
11個病人，術前、術後，分別用三個探頭錄下15秒的影片，
總共66個影片，
然後用iMovie來編輯，將影像的四週進行裁切，
讓判讀者無法由影像外觀直接斷定為那一個探頭所記錄。
15個有經驗的急診醫師和麻醉醫師來判讀影像。
氣胸判讀的整體表現:
Sensitivity: 98.2%; Specificity: 97.2%
PPV: 97.2%; NPV: 98.2%
至於是那種探頭表現最好: 沒有明顯差異
判讀時間那種可以最快: 沒有套顯差異 (線形的比心臟探頭快一點點)
有差異的是什麼呢 ? 影像品質
理所當然Linear > Curved > Phased
如果你只看氣胸，線形探頭是你的最好選擇。因為影像品質最好。 如果在急救和外傷處置中，我個人會選腹部探頭，因為心、胸、腹都可以看。 如果心和肺都要看，我個人會選心臟探頭，因為可以進行許多心臟的評估， 肺的表淺和深部病灶都有機會可以診斷，腹部也可以快速評估。
有興趣的人可以點選連結去看看這篇文章喔 !!
Which ultrasound transducer type is best for diagnosing pneumothorax?
Background
An accurate physical examination is essential in the care of critically ill and injured patients. However, to diagnose or exclude a pneumothorax, chest auscultation is unreliable compared to lung ultrasonography. In the dynamic prehospital environment, it is desirable to have the best possible ultrasound transducer readily available. The objective is to assess the difference between a linear-array, curved-array, and phased-array ultrasound transducer in the assessment for pneumothorax and to determine which is best.
Methods
In this double-blinded, cross-sectional, observational study, 15 observers, experienced in lung ultrasonography, each assessed 66 blinded ultrasound video clips of either normal ventilation or pneumothorax that were recorded with three types of ultrasound transducers. The clips were recorded in 11 adult patients that underwent thoracoscopic lung surgery immediately before and after the surgeon opened the thorax. The diagnostic accuracy of the three transducers, elapsed time until a diagnosis was made, and the perceived image quality was recorded.
Results
In total, 15 observers assessed 990 ultrasound video clips. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 98.2% and 97.2%, relatively. No significant difference was found in the diagnostic performance between transducers. A diagnosis was made slightly faster in the linear-array transducer clips, compared to the phased-array transducer (p = .031). For the linear-, curved-, and phased-array transducer, the image quality was rated at a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 4 (IQR 3–4), 3 (IQR 2–4), and 2 (IQR 1–2), relatively. Between the transducers, the difference in image quality was significant (p < .0001).
Conclusions
There was no difference in diagnostic performance of the three transducers. Based on image quality, the linear-array transducer might be preferred for (prehospital) lung ultrasonography for the diagnosis of pneumothorax
