On the application of ultrasonic contrast agents for blood flowmetry and assessment of cardiac perfusion.

Abstract

The stability, size, and ultrasonic properties of several ultrasonic microbubble contrast agents such as Albunex, SHU-454, 1% hydrogen peroxide, and sonicated solutions such as 70% and 50% dextrose, 70% sorbitol, 5% albumin, Renografin-76, and others were evaluated. Albunex was the only tested agent that was sufficiently stable over an extended period of time for in vitro ultrasonic characterization. The attenuation and backscatter coefficients of Albunex at 5 and 7.5 MHz were found to be linearly proportional to microsphere concentration at low concentrations (less than 0.01% for attenuation and less than 0.002% for backscatter). Also, Albunex was found to be more echogenic than soft tissues at 5 MHz even after being diluted to 0.0003% of the original concentration. Next, the feasibility of using this acoustic information for contrast blood flowmetry was investigated. In vitro flow estimates in a mock flow loop were made using only the ultrasonic properties of the contrast agent. Bolus injections of Albunex and indicator-dilution curves inferred from ultrasonic measurements were used to estimate calibrated flow rate ranging from 400 to 5000 mL/min. The flow estimates from attenuation measurements showed a good correlation with those from an independent method (r = 0.97), but the results from backscatter studies did not correlate well. These results demonstrate that attenuation measurement may be a feasible alternative for in vivo blood flow measurement in conjunction with the indicator dilution principle or estimation of tissue perfusion such as myocardial perfusion using a time-activity approach.