{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T15:51:33Z","timestamp":1777564293340,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759276800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hyperechoic vertical artifacts are an essential feature of lung ultrasound (LUS) arising from various pathological states. Those that meet the criteria for B-lines have the most significant diagnostic value and should be differentiated from other hyperechoic vertical artifacts of unspecified clinical importance. Although numerous studies have assessed the impacts of transducer type on the appearance of B-lines in human medicine, comparative studies in veterinary medicine are limited and conflicting. This study compares three transducer types for the assessment of hyperechoic vertical artifacts in dogs. We hypothesize that there is high-level reviewer agreement in the assessment of HVA image quality and characteristics, and that the image quality\/characteristics differ between the three transducers. Dogs (n = 8) with HVAs and sonographic absence of lung consolidations, pleural effusion, and\/or pneumothorax were enrolled. Twenty-four cine-loops (5 s) containing HVAs were retrospectively and independently reviewed by two reviewers, who were blinded to the case details but not transducer type. The reviewers assessed the cine-loops for the following: whether HVAs meet the B-line criteria, ease of counting HVAs, and overall image quality. Paired cine-loops from the same patient using different transducers were then presented for HVA quality comparison. Inter-rater concordance was determined using the Kappa coefficient, Kendall\u2019s tau, and Pearson correlation coefficient, while characteristics were compared using chi-square and Kruskal\u2013Wallis tests (level of significance, \u03b1 = 0.05). The overall concordance of image quality was good (Pearson\u2019s coefficient = 0.82). The PA transducer scored lower in image quality (p &lt; 0.001), HVA blending (p = 0.014), graininess (p &lt; 0.001), and clarity of edges (p &lt; 0.001) when compared with the microconvex and linear transducers, and the identification of B-line criteria differed between transducers (p = 0.024). Furthermore, the PA scored lowest in the comparison of paired cine-loops regarding the image and HVA quality (p &lt; 0.001). Although more HVAs failed to reach the far field with the linear transducer (10\/16, 62.5%) compared with the microconvex (8\/16, 50%) and PA (3\/16, 18.5%) transducers, the linear transducer scored higher than the microconvex and PA transducers regarding its ability to count B-lines (p &lt; 0.001). This study demonstrates that the type of transducer significantly impacts the characteristics of HVAs, with the PA transducer producing lower-quality images compared with the microconvex and linear transducers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci12100949","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T11:06:02Z","timestamp":1759316762000},"page":"949","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Sonographic Assessment of Hyperechoic Vertical Artifact Characteristics in Lung Ultrasound Using Microconvex, Phased Array, and Linear Transducers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-0856-6977","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Micha\u0142","family":"Gajewski","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Vetcardia Veterinary Clinic Kijowska 11, 03-743 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8326-0817","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katarzyna","family":"Kraszewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vetcardia Veterinary Clinic Kijowska 11, 03-743 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-7706-2502","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kris","family":"Gommeren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health, University of Li\u00e8ge, 4000 Li\u00e8ge, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0936-4834","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00f8ren","family":"Boysen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1378\/chest.07-2800","article-title":"Relevance of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of acute respiratory failure: The BLUE protocol","volume":"134","author":"Lichtenstein","year":"2008","journal-title":"Chest"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1125","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cvsm.2021.07.012","article-title":"Lung Ultrasound Fundamentals, \u201cWet Versus Dry\u201d Lung, Signs of Consolidation in Dogs and Cats","volume":"51","author":"Lisciandro","year":"2021","journal-title":"Vet. 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