Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography: advance and current status in abdominal imaging.
- Author:
Yong Eun CHUNG
1
;
Ki Whang KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: Abdomen; Image enhancement; Ultrasonography; Contrast media; Microbubbles
- MeSH: Abdomen; Biopsy; Catheter Ablation; Contrast Media; Image Enhancement; Liver; Microbubbles; Perfusion; Ultrasonography*
- From: Ultrasonography 2015;34(1):3-18
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: In the field of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (US), contrast agents are classified as either first- or second-generation agents depending on the gas within the microbubbles. In the case of first-generation contrast agents, a high-mechanical-index technique is used and only intermittent scanning is possible due to the early destruction of the microbubbles during the scanning. The use of second-generation contrast agents in a low-mechanical-index technique enables continuous scanning. Besides the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions, contrast-enhanced US is helpful in the monitoring of radiofrequency ablation therapy and in the targeting step of an US-guided biopsy. Recently, there has been a demand for new criteria to evaluate the treatment response obtained using anti-angiogenic agents because morphologic criteria alone may not reflect the treatment response of the tumor and contrast-enhanced US can provide quantitative markers of tissue perfusion. In spite of the concerns related to its cost-effectiveness, contrast-enhanced US has the potential to be more widely used as a complimentary tool or to substitute the current imaging modalities in some occasions.
