Nano/microparticles and ultrasound contrast agents

Ultrasound Contrast Agents Optical and Acoustical Characterization

Bioeffects considerations for diagnostic ultrasound contrast agents.

Diagnostic ultrasound contrast agents have been developed for enhancing the echogenicity of blood and for delineating other structures of the body. Approved agents are suspensions of gas bodies (stabilized microbubbles), which have been designed for persistence in the circulation and strong echo return for imaging. The interaction of ultrasound pulses with these gas bodies is a form of acoustic...

Toward increased applicability of ultrasound contrast agents

Ultrasound is one of the most widely used modalities in medical imaging because of its high costeffectiveness, wide availability in hospitals, generation of real-time images, and use of nonionizing radiation. However, the image quality can be insufficient in some patients. Introducing a contrast agent (CA), which comprises a suspension of 2–6 μm-sized microbubbles, improves the image quality an...

Switching of MRI Contrast Agents with Ultrasound

Purpose The utility of (super)paramagnetic agents to enhance contrast in MRI has been for some time demonstrated in human studies. The contrast provided by these agents arises from their ability to achieve reductions in T1 and T2*. Another approach to designing contrast agents is to consider the use of ultrasound (US). We have developed a method involving the application of US in MRI in the pre...

Ultrasound contrast agents affect the angiogenic response.

OBJECTIVES The interaction of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) and ultrasound (US) provides a way to spatially and temporally target tissues. Recently, UCAs have been used therapeutically to induce localized angiogenesis. Ultrasound contrast agents, however, have been documented to induce negative bioeffects. To further understand the balance of risks and benefits of UCAs and to examine the me...