July 26, 2019 — RadioGraphics
By Shuchi K. Rodgers, MD
Department of Radiology, Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland
CEUS can play a crucial role in patients with HCC who undergo ablation. Bansal et al have written a clear and compelling article describing their use of CEUS for preprocedural planning and postablation imaging. In their algorithm, focal regions of APHE diagnosed at postablation CEUS are re-treated during the same session, leading to decreased tumor recurrence rates. Considering that recurrence rates after ablation (read more…)

July 26, 2019 — RadioGraphics
Abstract
The role of contrast-enhanced US in ablative therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma includes patient selection, treatment planning, intraprocedural guidance, and immediate postprocedural assessment; the authors also describe their use of this modality for secondary surveillance.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high incidence of recurrence following therapy. Therefore, secondary surveillance (scheduled follow-up imaging after treatment) is an important part of disease management. The recent approval in the United States for use of a microbubble-based contrast agent for US liver (read more…)

July 16, 2019 — Uro Today
Abstract
Trans-rectal ultrasound-guided 12-core systematic biopsy (SBx) is the standard diagnostic pathway for prostate cancer (PCa) because of a lack of sufficiently accurate imaging. Quantification of 3-D dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (US) might open the way for a targeted procedure in which biopsies are directed at lesions suspicious on imaging. This work describes the expansion of contrast US dispersion imaging algorithms to 3-D and compares its performance against malignant and benign disease. Furthermore, we examined the feasibility (read more…)

Jul 16, 2019 — AuntMinnie.com
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
Bracco Diagnostics, subsidiary of contrast developer Bracco Imaging, is promoting the results of a new study demonstrating that its Lumason ultrasound contrast agent is safe to use with transthoracic echocardiography.
“The positive impact of ultrasound-enhancing agents is indisputable as they have significantly improved the quality and cost-effectiveness of cardiac clinical care, but these agents are underutilized by the clinical community due to concerns about potential allergic reactions,” study author Dr. Stephen Heitner (read more…)

June 27, 2019 — Journal of Urology
Abstract
 Purpose:
Similar to multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging, multiparametric ultrasound (mpUS) can represent a promising approach for prostate cancer (PCa) imaging. We determined the diagnostic performance of B-mode, shearwave elastography (SWE), contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with quantification software, and their combination, mpUS, for clinically significant (cs)PCa localization using radical prostatectomy (RP) histopathology as reference standard.
Material and Methods:
From May 2017 to July 2017, 50 men with biopsy-proven PCa underwent mpUS before RP in one center. Three readers independently (read more…)

June 24, 2019 — Medgadget
Imaging the heart for signs of disease is still quite rudimentary. While CT, ultrasound, and PET (positron-emission tomography) scanners generate impressive looking graphics, they’re a long way from giving doctors a true representation of the anatomy and function of the heart and nearby vasculature.
Contrast agents are widely used to allow these modalities to produce better images of the heart, but they’re indiscriminate in what they help to illuminate. Similar to a flood light, these agents tend (read more…)

Jun 24, 2019 — AuntMinnie
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
Lantheus Holdings, the parent company of Lantheus Medical Imaging, is directing attention to new clinical data for its Definity ultrasound contrast agent being presented June 24 at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) meeting in Portland, OR.
The researchers, led by Dr. Michael Main from Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, MO, examined the data of roughly 1.5 million intensive care unit (ICU) patients from 773 hospitals who underwent echocardiography (read more…)

June 2019 — Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC)
Abstract
Background Preclinical studies have demonstrated that high mechanical index (MI) impulses from a diagnostic ultrasound transducer during an intravenous microbubble infusion (sonothrombolysis) can restore epicardial and microvascular flow in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
Objectives
This study tested the clinical effectiveness of sonothrombolysis in patients with STEMI.
Methods
Patients with their first STEMI were prospectively randomized to either diagnostic ultrasound–guided high MI impulses during an intravenous Definity (Lantheus Medical Imaging, North Billerica, Massachusetts) (read more…)

June 13, 2019 — MedicalXpress
by Drexel University
*To be presented at the 34th Advances in Contrast Ultrasound International Bubble Conference in Chicago in September.
One of the reasons cardiovascular disease kills 610,000 Americans each year is that it’s hard to see it coming before it’s too late. By the time someone is experiencing chest pain, irreversible damage has likely been done. Despite advancements in medical imaging technology for the rest of the body, it’s still quite difficult to get a clear look (read more…)

Tucson Tech: World View touts success, growth
May 1, 2019 – Arizona Daily Star
Microvascular Therapeutics, a Tucson-based company co-founded by University of Arizona radiology professor Dr. Evan Unger, has licensed two patent applications from Stanford University to develop a new test for pancreatic cancer.
The company will marry an antibody for pancreatic cancer developed at Stanford with a new ultrasound imaging contrast agent, MVT-100, which is currently in clinical testing and is being supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, (read more…)