Imaging Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Ultrasound Med Biol. 2012 Jun;38(6):1097-100. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2012.02.008. Epub 2012 Apr 3.
Accurate acoustic characterisation is an essential component of any experimental investigation concerning the use and development of microbubble contrast agents. It is of increasing importance as applications such as therapy and molecular and quantitative imaging are investigated. Such characterisation is generally conducted in the laboratory in the form of bulk acoustic studies or optical observation of single bubbles using high speed photography in a water tank containing "out-gassed" water. The approach is widely used in acoustics to prevent inaccurate measurements being made due to the presence of gas bubbles settling on instrumentation, however, the term is often used to cover a range of water preparation techniques and the final gas content of the water is not usually stated. This technical note demonstrates the influence of gas content on the stability of microbubble contrast agents and concludes that characterisation should always be conducted in equilibrated, gas-saturated water to ensure accurate and repeatable measurements are made.
准确的声学特性是任何涉及微泡造影剂使用和开发的实验研究的重要组成部分。随着治疗和分子及定量成像等应用的研究，其重要性日益增加。这种特性通常在实验室中进行，以批量声学研究的形式或在含有“除气”水的水箱中使用高速摄影对单个气泡进行光学观察。这种方法在声学中被广泛用于防止由于仪器上的气泡沉降而导致不准确的测量，但该术语通常用于涵盖一系列水制备技术，并且通常不会说明水的最终含气量。本技术说明演示了含气量对微泡造影剂稳定性的影响，并得出结论，应始终在平衡、饱和气体的水中进行特性描述，以确保进行准确和可重复的测量。
