Advances in Echo Imaging Using Contrast Enhancement

**`** Nanda and Schlief have edited and produced an authoritative and up-to-date reference book for both experienced and inexperienced echocardiologists. I strongly recommend this publication to those interested in this field. **'****International Journal of Cardiology, 45 (1994)** Front Matter....Pages i-xi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Contrast echocardiography — a historical perspective....Pages 3-8 Principles of echo contrast....Pages 9-42 Conventional echo-contrast agents. Hand preparation, sonication, properties....Pages 43-56 Albumin spheres as contrast agents....Pages 57-70 Saccharide based contrast agents....Pages 71-96 Echocontrast enhancers — how safe are they?....Pages 97-110 Gas bubble dynamics in acoustic fields and their biological consequences....Pages 111-131 Front Matter....Pages 133-133 Clinical uses of contrast agents — practical considerations....Pages 135-145 Structure identification by transthoracic contrast echocardiography....Pages 147-166 Identification of right sided structures by contrast transesophageal echocardiography....Pages 167-181 Left ventricular contrast echocardiography — echoventriculography....Pages 183-201 Diagnosis of patent foramen ovale by transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography....Pages 203-216 Spontaneous echographic contrast — etiology and clinical implications....Pages 217-229 Contrast enhanced Doppler in the noninvasive measurement of pulmonary artery pressure....Pages 231-239 Contrast enhanced Doppler in the assessment of aortic stenosis....Pages 241-251 Contrast enhanced color Doppler — basics and potential clinical value....Pages 253-271 Contrast enhanced color Doppler in the assessment of mitral regurgitation....Pages 273-287 Transesophageal echo-Doppler studies of coronary arteries — identification, assessment of flow reserve and value of contrast enhancement....Pages 289-300 Transesophageal echocardiographic assessment of coronary arteries using echo-contrast enhancement....Pages 301-308 Diagnostic value of contrast enhancement in vascular Doppler ultrasound....Pages 309-323 Front Matter....Pages 325-325 Quantitative contrast Doppler intensitometry....Pages 327-339 Role of echo-contrast in quantitative analysis....Pages 341-357 Potential applications of color-Doppler imaging of the myocardium in assessing contractility and perfusion....Pages 359-374 Myocardial imaging by color-Doppler coded velocity mapping — from regional contraction to tissue characterization?....Pages 375-399 Back Matter....Pages 401-405 This book will familiarize the reader with recent advances in echo imaging technology with special emphasis on echo enhancing agents. Several important strides have been made in this field during the past few years, especially in the contrast enhancement of conventional and color Doppler images. The book begins with chapters on the history of contrast echocardiography, the principles of contrast echo and descriptions of new contrast agents capable of transpulmonary passage following intravenous injection. Safety issues in contrast echocardiography are also discussed. The second section of the book deals with clinical uses of echo contrast agents. Their usefulness in the identification of cardiac structures and assessment of pathological lesions using both transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography are fully discussed. Technical and practical considerations in the use of various contrast agents are also described. The use of contrast echo in the identification of cardiac sources of embolism as well as possible mechanisms and clinical significance of spontaneous contrast echoes are also covered. Six chapters fully discuss the basics of contrast enhancement of conventional and color Doppler images and its clinical utility in the noninvasive assessment of pulmonary artery pressure, regurgitant and stenotic lesions and in the delineation of coronary arteries. Another chapter describes the non-cardiac applications of the echo contrast enhancement technique. The final section of the book investigates the role of echo contrast enhancement in quantitative cardiovascular analysis Use of echo-enhancement in the evaluation of peripheral circulation is discussed in chapters on carotid and peripheral arterial flow imaging and others that describe renal and hepatic vascular imaging.