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Ultraschall Med 2023; 44(06): 579-581
DOI: 10.1055/a-2180-6817
Editorial

Passing of the baton

Article in several languages: deutsch | English

Authors

  • Eberhard Merz

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After a total of 4 years as an associate editor and 24 years as an editor at Ultraschall in der Medizin/European Journal of Ultrasound (UIM/EJU), the time has come for a change.

It was the year 1994 when Prof. Dr. Emil Reinold, one of the three founding editors of Ultraschall in der Medizin, approached Karlheinz Seitz and me at the three-country meeting in Basel, Switzerland and asked us if we would like to get involved as associate editors for the journal. Since we had been intensively involved in ultrasound for a long time, we gladly accepted the offer. Four years later, in 1999, we both became editors, together with Kurt Jäger from Basel, Switzerland and Gerd Judmaier from Innsbruck, Austria.

Since then, ultrasound diagnostics has developed enormously in many areas.

In the field of gynecology and obstetrics, technical developments in ultrasound devices, e. g., the high image quality of 2D sonography, the automation of Doppler/color Doppler sonography, and the significant development of 3D/4D sonography, should be mentioned here [1].

In prenatal diagnostics, the widespread use of first-trimester screening [2] [3] led to a shift of prenatal diagnosis from the second trimester to the first, which meant that a large number of malformations could be diagnosed much earlier [4]. 3D sonography [5] [6] [7] made it possible for the first time to visualize fetal surfaces and to acquire X-ray-like images of the fetal skeleton [8], as well as to precisely examine certain planes, e. g., the fetal profile [9], or standard biometric planes [10]. 4D ultrasonography provided insight into fetal movements while simultaneously imaging the fetal surface [11] as well as allowing assessment of fetal heart movements [12].

In the field of gynecology, transvaginal ultrasound has made a valuable contribution to the diagnosis of tumors in the female pelvis [13] [14]. Transvaginal 3D sonography enables the spatial imaging of inner walls in cystic tumors and tumor vascularization [6] [15]. It can also be used to specifically detect uterine abnormalities [16] or dislocations of intrauterine devices [17]. With translabial/transperineal 3D sonography, the female pelvic floor and corresponding pelvic floor defects can be easily detected [18] [19] [20].

In breast sonography, 3D imaging allows tumors to be displayed in coronal planes, which makes it possible to differentiate between benign and malignant findings in many cases [21] [22]. Significant progress has also been made in the field of elastography in the female breast [23] [24].

All these developments have been able to be continuously demonstrated by corresponding publications in UIM/EJU. Articles on the safety of ultrasound in the unborn child have also been given appropriate attention [25] [26]. In addition, the journal also published CME articles, which are important for education and training. However, not only the publication of high-quality original papers but also the transition from a purely German-language to an English-language journal was decisive for the journal’s success. Consequently, a far-reaching international audience was able to be reached and a significant increase of the impact factor was observed.

After all these years of editing, I am grateful that I was able to personally experience the many developments in the field of ultrasound diagnostics both in my daily routine and as an editor of UIM/EJU. Some things will certainly change in the future. For example, sonographic evaluation of fetal malformations will increasingly be supplemented by genetic examinations, such as trio-exome sequencing [27] [28], in order to better assess the prognosis of anomalies.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Thieme team of UIM/EJU for all the years of trust and good collaboration, especially Mr. Volker Niem, Mr. Siegfried Steindl (MD), Ms. Angelika Höbrink and Ms. Alexandra Heise. I would also like to thank all my co-editors for the years of harmonious teamwork.

I am pleased that we have found an excellent successor for me as the new editor. Prof. Dr. Philipp Klaritsch from the Department of Obstetrics at the University Womenʼs Hospital Graz will share responsibility for the field of gynecological and obstetric ultrasound in the future.

Finally, I wish the entire editorial team of the journal UIM/EJU continued enthusiasm and future success.

Eberhard Merz


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Eberhard Merz

Conflict of interest

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.


Korrespondenzadresse

Prof. Dr. Eberhard Merz
Centre for Ultrasound and Prenatal Medicine
Ebersheimstraße 5
60320 Frankfurt/Main
Germany   

Publication History

Article published online:
04 December 2023

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