Contrast Echocardiography in Clinical Practice

Description

Echocardiography has now reached its maturity and plays a key role in the clinical assessment of cardiac function. However, its ability to assess myocardial perfusion remains a clinical challenge.

Myocardial contrast echocardiography is a technique that uses microbubbles. These microbubbles remain entirely within the intravascular space and their presence in any myocardial region denotes the status of microvascular perfusion within that region. During the last few years, a large number of research studies have been dedicated to this topic. The latest developments in echocardiographic techniques and second-generation contrast agents allow for the potential assessment of myocardial perfusion and provide an accurate endocardial border delineation.

In the present book, these new echocardiographic techniques dedicated to the assessment of myocardial perfusion are described in detail by experts from both sides of the Atlantic. Tips and tricks are included, explaining the basic concepts that are needed to understand and perform contrast echocardiography.

Reviews

"The use of contrast agents in echocardiography is becoming a routine clinical tool and this book aims to help those starting to use contrast agents as an ‘education tool in this field’. … this book provides an up-to-date introduction to contrast echocardiography as well as exciting glimpses into its future potential."
(Professor D O Cosgrove, RAD Magazine, March, 2005)

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 - The Physiological Basis of Coronary Circulation;
• Chapter 2 - Microbubbles: Basic Principles;
• Chapter 3 - Organization of the Echocardiography Contrast Laboratory: Tips and Tricks;
• Chapter 4 - Quantification Methods in Contrast Echocardiography;
• Chapter 5 - Clinical Application of Quantitative Analysis in Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography;
• Chapter 6 - Contrast Echocardiography for Left Ventricular Opacification;
• Chapter 7 - Coronary Flow Reserve and Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography;
• Chapter 8 - Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography in the Assessment of Patients with Chronic Coronary Artery Disease;
• Chapter 9 - Myocardial Viability: Comparison with Other Imaging Techniques;
• Chapter 10 - Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography and Inflammatory Response;
• Chapter 11 - Myocardial Perfusion Imaging During Stress Using Contrast Echocardiography;
• Chapter 12 - Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography in Acute Myocardial Infarction ;
• Chapter 13 - Can Echocardiography Provide Combined Assessment of Left Ventricular Function and Myocardial Perfusion?
• Chapter 14 - From a Toy with Lots of Potential to a Useful Clinical Tool: The Oxford Way of Doing Contrast Echocardiography;
• Chapter 15 - Clinical Application of Contrast Echocardiography in Critically Ill Patients;
• Chapter 16 - Therapeutic Application of Ultrasound Contrast Agents.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Additional software: QuickTime Drive: CD-ROM: 10x Graphic card: Monitor setting: 800 x 600 pixel; Setting: 65000 colors Operating system: Macintosh: MacOS 8.x, MacOS X; Windows: 98 SE Processor: PC with more than 350 MHz RAM: 256 MB