Endoscopic Ultrasonography in Taiwan

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has been applied to many disorders of gastroenterology since 1980 when the first prototype of an ultrasound endoscope was used in Japan. As in other countries, EUS has been one of the diagnostic modalities used in Taiwan island since 1985 when the first EUS was performed in National Taiwan University Hospital ( NTUH). From the 1980s to early 1990s, the cases where EUS was used were limited in Taiwan because the equipment was cumbersome to operate. After the EUM20 and EUM 30 system equipped with miniprobe (Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan) were introduced to Taiwan in 1995, application of EUS became widespread. Endoscopic ultrasonography is now performed in over 40 hospitals of this island