CLINICAL-APPLICATIONS OF ULTRASOUND CONTRAST AGENTS

Within the last decade safe and practical ultrasound contrast agents h ave been introduced. Most of these are based on gas-filled microbubble s, which markedly enhance Doppler signals and, in some cases, also gra y-scale images. The clinical improvements expected from ultrasound con trast is reviewed. Tissue-specific contrast agents constitute another area of potential clinical significance. One particular agent is taken up by the reticulo-endothelial system and produces so-called acoustic emission signals when imaged. An introduction to the unique clinical applications of acoustic emission is given,Harmonic imaging is a new c ontrast-specific imaging modality, which utilizes the nonlinear proper ties of some agents in an attempt to alleviate current limitations of ultrasound contrast studies. Examples of harmonic images are presented . (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.