Developments in Echo Contrast Agents

Abstract

Contrast echo techniques are beginning to be used to assess blood flow within the myocardial tissue of man, and progress to date suggests that, with further development, contrast echo may fulfill the critical clinical need to quantitate myocardial perfusion and actual tissue at risk [1, 2, 3]. The ability to quantitate perfusion and define at-risk tissue would be particularly timely due to the recent advances made in salvaging viable myocardial tissue using such techniques as thrombolysis, angioplasty, early surgical revascularization and, potentially, laser therapy; generally, these techniques are currently performed based upon angiographic data, although recent reports describe the discrepancy between coronary artery anatomy as defined by the angiogram and the actual functional parameters of myocardial blood flow [4]. Optimally, the ideal imaging modality used to assess viable tissue would be one that is a functional parameter and is accurate, quantitative, readily available, non-invasive, non-toxic and economical.