Masuyama T, Yamamoto K, Kondo H, Nishikawa N, Sakata Y, Ono K, Kuzuya T, Hori M
Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
J Cardiol. 2000 Mar;35 Suppl 1:23-9.
Intravenous contrast echocardiography has become possible in Japan because of the release of the commercially available contrast agent, Levovist. Intravenous administration of Levovist satisfactorily stains the left ventricular cavity, which makes it possible to clearly delineate the endocardial border. Clear delineation of the endocardial border provides easy and accurate measurement of left ventricular dimension and wall thickness, and wall motion abnormalities can be easily and accurately judged, too. Another benefit of intravenous contrast echocardiography is the assessment of myocardial perfusion. Our preliminary experimental and clinical experiences showed the possibility of myocardial staining with intravenous contrast echocardiography. Impressive myocardial staining is obtainable with the combined use of intermittent and contrast harmonic power Doppler imaging. In order to obtain reproducible and clear myocardial contrast images, we have to pay attention to how to inject contrast and settings of ultrasound equipment, i.e., mechanical index, gain setting, depth of focus point, and pulse repetition frequency, artifacts. In the near future, a lot of issues should be standardized to make it possible to compare myocardial contrast echo studies.
由于市售造影剂Levovist的推出，静脉注射造影剂超声心动图在日本已成为可能。静脉注射Levovist能令人满意地使左心室腔显影，从而能够清晰地勾勒出心内膜边界。清晰勾勒心内膜边界便于准确测量左心室大小和壁厚度，也能轻松准确地判断壁运动异常。静脉注射造影剂超声心动图的另一个益处是评估心肌灌注。我们初步的实验和临床经验表明静脉注射造影剂超声心动图有使心肌显影的可能性。联合使用间歇式和造影谐波功率多普勒成像可获得令人印象深刻的心肌显影。为了获得可重复且清晰的心肌造影图像，我们必须注意造影剂的注射方式以及超声设备的设置，即机械指数、增益设置、焦点深度和脉冲重复频率、伪像。在不久的将来，许多问题应实现标准化，以便能够比较心肌造影回声研究。
