Amersham Health As

Nycomed Imaging As

Nyomed Imaging As

Jonny &Oslash;stensen

Morten Eriksen

Sigmund Frigstad

P&aring;l Rongved

Lars Hoff

Audun Tornes

A combined preparation comprising: i) an ultrasound contrast agent capable of accumulation in tissue microvasculature; and ii) a pharamacologically effective amount of a vasodilator drug may be used in perfusion imaging, especially of the myocardium. The contrast agent accumulates in tissue in concentrations related to the regional rate of tissue perfusion, and the vasodilator drug enhances distinction between normally perfused and underperfused tissue.

Ultrasound imaging with contrast agent targeted to microvasculature and a vasodilator drug

Ultrasonic visualisation of a suject, particularly of perfusion in the myocardium and other tissues, is performed using novel gas-containing contrast agent preparations which promote controllable and temporary growth of the gas phase in vivo following administration and can therefore act as deposited perfusion tracers. The preparations include a coadministerable composition comprising a diffusible component capable of inward diffusion into the dispersed gas phase to promote temporary growth thereof. In cardiac perfusion imaging the preparations may advantageously be coadministered with vasodilator drugs such as adenosine in order to enhance the differences in return signal intensity from normal and hypoperfused myocardial tissue respectively.

Contrast agents

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

Ultrasonic visualization of a subject, particularly of perfusion in the myocardium and other tissues, is performed using novel gas-containing contrast agent preparations which promote controllable and temporary growth of the gas phase in vivo following administration and can therefore act as deposited perfusion tracers. The preparations include a coadministerable composition comprising a diffusible component capable of inward diffusion into the dispersed gas phase to promote temporary growth thereof. In cardiac perfusion imaging the preparations may advantageously be coadministered with vasodilator drugs such as adenosine in order to enhance the differences in return signal intensity from normal and hypoperfused myocardial tissue respectively.

A method of measuring tissue perfusion in a human or non-human animal subject which comprises administering an effective amount of an ultrasound contrast agent to said subject, irradiating tissue in a target region with at least one pulse of ultrasound having energy sufficient to destroy or discernibly modify the echogenic properties of substantially all contrast agent in said target region, and ultrasonically detecting and quantifying the rate of flow of either further contrast agent into said target region or modified contrast agent out of said target region.

Growing community of inventors

Oslo, Norway

Jonny Østensen

Growing community of inventors

Oslo, Norway

Jonny &Oslash;stensen

Jonny Østensen