ULTRASOUND CONTRAST AGENT IN INTRAVASCULAR ECHOGRAPHY - AN IN-VITRO STUDY

The intravascular ultrasound image of the intraluminal contour depends on the difference between acoustic impedances of the media which crea te the endoluminal interface, There are several limitations to the vis ualization and detection of this interface, These limitations are due to artifacts encountered during image formation and to anatomical comp lexity, The purpose of this study is to obtain intraluminal contour en hancement using ultrasound contrast agent (UCA), Therefore, our object ive was to address the feasibility of this technique by documenting th e following: (i) the acoustic properties of UCA at 30 MHz; (ii) in vit ro experimentation with tube or postnecrotic artery; and (iii) suitabl e digital processing, The images obtained with UCA (enhanced image qua lity) and subtracted from those without UCA provided, after simple dig ital processing, accurate visualization of the arterial lumen, The ima ge obtained exhibits an even, high-contrast intraluminal edge, Such ch aracteristics facilitate contour extraction by the automated contour d etection procedures, (C) 1997 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medic ine and Biology.