Ge Healthcare As

Amersham Health As

Ge Healthcare Limited

Nycomed Imaging As

Audun Tornes

Morten Eriksen

Sigmund Frigstad

Anne Kirsti Aksnes

Else Kruger Hagen

Jo Klaveness

Harald Dugstad

Pål Rongved

Roald Skurtveit

Jonny &Oslash;stensen

Henrik Rasmussen

David Johnson

Jonny Østensen

Jonnny Ostensen

Jorunn Brænden

Lars Hoff

The present invention relates to methods for the identification of a sentinel lymph node and to compounds and preparations used in said methods.

Method, compounds and preparations for the identification of sentinel lymph nodes

Ultrasound contrast agents comprising microbubbles of biocompatible gas, e.g. a sulphur halide or a perfluorocarbon, stabilized by opsonisable amphiphilic material, e.g. a membrane-forming lipid such as a phospholipid, especially a negatively charged phospholipid such as a phosphatidylserine, may exhibit prolonged contrast-generating residence time in the liver following intravenous administration.

Contrast agents

Radioactive sources, preferably radioactive seeds, for use in brachytherapy comprising a radioisotope within a sealed biocompatible container, wherein at least one part of the outer surface of the container is grooved, preferably with a curved groove. The grooved outer surface is preferably substantially free from angularities. Such grooves enhance the echogenicity of the source using medical ultrasound at a greater range of angles to the ultrasound probe, thus enhancing the ultrasound visibility of the source. Preferred radioisotopes are palladium-103 and iodine-125.

Grooved brachytherapy sources

Prostate abnormalities such as cancer may be detected by ultrasonic determination of the in-flow kinetics of contrast agent-containing blood in the prostate and/or by observation of disease-related asymmetries in the the spoke-like vascular pattern of the prostate.

Ultrasonography

Ultrasound imaging using gas microbubble-containing contrast agents may be performed in the recirculating phase following admixture of the contrast agent with the blood pool, thereby prolonging the useful imaging time window compared to that conventionally obtained during the backscatter signal peak resulting from first pass of a contrast agent bolus. The length of the time window may further be increased by imaging at ultrasound frequencies of 2 MHz or less, particularly by harmonic imaging at transmit frequencies less than the resonance frequencies of the gas microbubbles.

In or relating to contrast agents

Prostate abnormalities such as cancer may be detected by ultrasonic determination of the in-flow kinetics of contrast agent-containing blood in the prostate and/or by observation of disease-related asymmetries in the spoke-like vascular pattern of the prostate.

Ultrasonography of the prostate

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Oslo, Norway

Audun Tornes