Molecular acoustic angiography: Comparison of contrast-to-tissue ratio with multi-pulse techniques and imaging multiple targeted microbubbles

摘要

Acoustic angiography is a high resolution (~100 μm) approach that utilizes the superharmonic signal produced by microbubbles, which we have recently extended for molecular imaging. These molecular images can also be overlaid onto images of microvascular anatomy in order to assess relationships between vascular morphology and targeting distribution. In this work we compare the contrast-to-tissue ratio (CTR) between superharmonic and multi-pulse molecular imaging and present images of microbubbles targeted to different biomarkers expressed by the vascular endothelial cells. Combing molecular and microvascular information about developing tumors could provide vital information for treatment planning, monitoring, and for ensuring clean margins in surgical resection.