ENHANCEMENT OF COLOR DOPPLER SIGNALS BY C ONTRAST AGENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF BREAST-LESIONS

Doppler blood flow measurements allow differentiation of malignant les ions, that are characterised by an abnormal vascularity. The accuracy of this method is limited due to the physiological flow variation in n ormal breast parenchyma and in tumours. Magnetic resonance imaging in combination with contrast agents can also be used for flow assessment by measurement of the dynamic contrast enhancement. Recently, a new ec ho contrast agent (Levovist(R)) has been developed, which survives pul monary transit and increases the Doppler signal intensity after intrav enous injection. Fourteen malignancies with low vascularity were selec ted for the study. Twenty-two seconds after injection of contrast agen t, the Doppler signal intensity increased dramatically. This demonstra tes, that echo contrast agents might improve the diagnosis of breast l esions in case of non-conclusive Doppler findings.