"Ultra-High Frequency intraOral UltraSonography of the TONgue" (HOUSTON)

Oral diseases are currently diagnosed by means of clinical examination and supported by surgical biopsy procedures. In particular, daily oral medicine practice is lacking the use of a routine diagnostic support to the visualization of anatomical structures located beyond the mucosal surface. Considering the growing interest in minimally invasive diagnosis, the possibility of having an imaging technique dedicated to the investigation of oral soft tissues and their alterations may be instrumental to support the clinical diagnosis. Therefore, attempts to introduce conventional ultrasonography (US) to the diagnostic work-up of pathological conditions of the head and neck have been done, exploiting the unique features of this technique in terms of limited invasive- ness, repeatability, and cost efficiency. In the literature, both extraoral and intraoral applications of US have been reported. Extraoral applications mainly focus on the characterization of oral and maxillofacial swellings of various origin, while intraoral applications mostly involve the study of malignant lesions in terms of tumor thickness and depth of invasion. The aim of the present protocol is to evaluate the role of intraoral ultra-high frequency ultrasonography in the study of oral mucosal lesions.