Past Online Articles Create username. The use of ultrasound contrast agent imaging in echocardiography has grown rapidly from identifying anatomical structures and shunt lesions to better defining left ventricular borders and assessing myocardial perfusion and viability. Several new imaging techniques and technologies exist for imaging microbubbles in the myocardium using echocardiography. CCI allows continuous imaging of contrast agents with minimum bubble destruction, enabling physicians to clearly see the results from the contrast agent in real-time.
Physicians can also increase the transmit power and achieve bubble destruction if necessary.
For example, over 100 frames of myocardial perfusion can be quantitated in a short time, compared to the labor-intensive background subtraction required for quantitative analysis of even one frame with the intermittent imaging protocol needed with traditional harmonic technology. This has the greatest potential benefit in stress echocardiography where perfusion information may be acquired in addition to wall motion and thickening evaluation to improve overall assessment of viability of the myocardium. Future opportunities with contrast agent use in the heart include thrombus targeting and dissolution, as well as being a transport vehicle for targeted gene delivery. Calif. Acuson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens. Usefulness of harmonic imaging for left ventricular opacification and endocardial border delineation by Optison, The American Journal of Cardiology, Volume 85. 2.