There are a number of problems in contrast imaging using LevovistTM contrast agent. In Doppler mode, the problems are poor resolution and large areas of blooming. In 2nd harmonic imaging and pulse inversion imaging, there are problems related to tissue harmonic imaging (THI) because Levovist requires a high mechanical index (MI). THI increases under high-MI conditions, and THI interferes with…
Endovascular therapy of diseases of the brain-supplying blood vessels has recently sparked new interest. Hundreds of these minimally invasive and often operation-substituting interventions are now being performed annually at neuroradiological centers. The most impressive results in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms are achieved using coil embolization. Endovascular therapy has been lound to…
Since the beginning of the 90s, sonography has been a solid diagnostic pillar in ophthalmology centers, but it is also used by related medical disciplines, such as pediatrics, whose patients require ophthalmological treatment. For all age groups, the fundus of the eye, and especially the optic disk, is well-suited for high-frequency sonography with linear transducers. This type of examination…
Intravascular contrast medium is essential for enhancement of vessels and parenchyma. In this way the relation between vessels and tumours can be detected. Factors that influence the time required for a contrast bolus are the cardiac output of a patient, body weight, hydration status and the condition of the vessels. When a main vessel is occluded because of thrombosis, embolia or trauma a…
The rare disease Takayasu's arteritis (TA) belongs to the vasculitis group of diseases and is also known as inflammatory aortic arch syndrome or as pulseless disease because of its typical clinical picture. The pathological-anatomical manifestations include inflammatory transformation of the media and adventitia with the appearance of giant cells, hence the term giant cell arteritis is also used.…
Arteriosclerosis is well known as a vascular disease and cardiovascular risk factor. In its generalised form it affects not only the peripheral vessels (pelvis, legs) but also the coronary vessels and the carotid arteries. Arteriosclerosis is primarily a manifestation of advancing age, hence it is often accompanied by other diseases of the lungs and the heart as well as by metabolic diseases…
It has long been known that hypoxia at high altitudes leads to an increase of pulmonaryarterial pressure. For sensitive persons, one crucial factor for the development of HAPE is the overwhelming rise in pressure in the pulmonary circulation. Using right heart catheterization average pulmonary-arterial pressures of 60 mmHg were encountered in earlier studies of HAPE patients. A pressure increase…
Imaging of blood flow with colour Doppler sonography is an established method in prenatal medicine. Today, there are several techniques which offer colour visualisation whose quality is on a par with that of the B-mode. One example of such a technique is Advanced Dynamic Flow (ADF). Looking at two cases, we will describe the clinical use of ADF to visualise fetal vascular tumours. The quality of…
Modern imaging modalities are increasingly playing a role in planning therapy for aortic diseases and in follow-up exams after surgery or endovascular intervention. The methods employed for minimally invasive endovascular therapy have been continually improved in recent years and are now being used by vascular surgeons or radiologists to treat thoracic, thoracoabdominal and abdominal aortic…
In the Caucasian population, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to a ruptured intracranial aneurysm is seen with an incidence of 6 to 8 per 100,000. In some specific countries such as Finland and Japan these numbers rise to 20 per 100,000. 60% of patients presenting with an aneurysmal SAH are female. The presenting symptoms are: thunderclap headache in combination with (temporary) loss of…
Using the different shaped tips of ARC 350L and TissueSeal or Ligator instruments, made by Bowa, surgeons can permanently seal large veins, arteries or bunched tissue. All of these special tools gained a red dot award for ergonomics and practicality.
For the first time in 33 years, wound healing was the focus of a dedicated session at the 33rd annual VEITHsymposium for vascular surgeons in New York (11/06). This underscores the fact that wound healing is heading increasingly towards a speciality that warrants the special attention of dedicated people willing to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to non-healing or complex wounds.
Already in 1993, the world market for contrast media was thought to be worth $ 3 billion. In 2001, an astonishing 12.2 million contrast medium-supported CT studies were carried out in Europe alone. Currently, the overall sales of contrast media are estimated to rise to $ 915 million in Europe in 2008.
Gadofosveset trisodium (trade name: Vasovist) is the first approved blood pool contrast agent worldwide for the diagnosis of vascular disease, Bayer Schering Pharma AG reports.
Bracco Imaging announces that the MR Angiography indication for MultiHance has been approved by the EU member states via a mutual recognition procedure. MultiHance is a gadolinium based contrast agent that is characterized by high relaxivity and dual route of excretion.
Endovascular brachytherapy has been successfully modified by scientists at Isotopen Technologie München AG (ITM), solving problems of radiation exposure to Rhenium-188. The researchers are now producing Rhenium-188 with previously unknown high specific activity in a new type of generator, Isotopen Technologie reports.
'Alles im Fluss' is the slogan of the 22nd Annual Congress of the German Society for Endovascular & Vascular Surgery, to be held from 6-9 September, in Muelheim an der Ruhr.
Scientific meetings held since 1998 at Alpbach, Germany, have attracted the sponsorship of leading associations and companies such as the Philip Morris External Research Programme, the Donors Association of German Science, Swiss National Fund, the German Heart Centre Foundation, Berlin, and Philips Medical Systems. At the 4th Alpbach Meeting, which focused on Magnetic Resonance, Contrast…
Vascular experts urge caution over stent lacement to prevent stroke.
Tissue engineering caused a stir at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Germany Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
Germany - Following positive results in numerous animal studies and the first human implantations of the Biontronik Absorbable Metal Stent (AMS) in below-the-knee arteries that confirmed device safety, at the end of July the first patients (worldwide) received AMS implants.
France - Four studies of three TAXUS paclitaxel-eluting stents have demonstrated their safety and efficacy, according to the maker, Boston Scientific Corporation of Natick, Maryland, USA.