Assessment of coronary microcirculation with myocardial contrast echocardiography: current and future clinical applications.

Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) is a relatively new technique that utilises the intravascular injection of microbubbles of air.' As these bubbles traverse the coronary microcirculation, they produce myocardial opacification that can be seen and measured. During their transit through the myocardium these bubbles remain entirely within the intravascular space and, if they are small, they act as tracers of red blood cell flow.23 Thus MCE can be used to assess the coronary microcirculation in the beating heart.