Imaging Contrast

Contrast agents are injected into patients to help enhance images to make it easier for radiologists distinguish specific areas of the body from surrounding tissues. The most commonly used agents are iodinated contrast dye for computed tomography (CT), interventional cath lab angiography,  RF fluoroscopy, and in surgical OR procedures. MRI scans typically use gadolinium-based contrast agents. Ultrasound and echocardiography (cardiac ultrasound) imaging use contrast agents composed of microscopic bubbles to enhance images that otherwise would be suboptimal.

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‘Careful what we wish for’: Radiologist warns against relinquishing contrast monitoring duties

The caution comes just one week after a pair of imaging experts said it's time the field reconsiders radiologists' role in overseeing adverse contrast reactions.

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Why it’s time to reconsider radiologists' role in monitoring adverse contrast reactions

Physicians face a similar risk of injury on their drive to imaging centers as patients receiving contrast for exams, two experts argued in JACR.

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New MRI contrast agent for 3D microvascular imaging beats out gadolinium-based materials

Researchers expect the Supramolecular Amorphous-like Iron Oxide agent to play a vital role in diagnosing stroke, heart attack, dementia, and other similar conditions.

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Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography helps predict the risk of negative outcomes after a liver transplant

The approach is a promising tool to safely and effectively evaluate donor liver perfusion, researchers explained in the European Journal of Radiology.

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Gadolinium-free imaging agent has strong potential as preferred contrast for MRI exams

The manganese-based contrast was also expelled more rapidly and completely from the body compared to other imaging agents.

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Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI helps clinicians diagnose Bell’s palsy

The approach accurately detected facial muscle abnormalities associated with the condition, according to research published in Clinical Radiology.

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Man died after receiving ‘unnecessary’ contrast scan, despite kidney issues

Radiologists signed off on the exam, but never took the proper steps to determine the 91-year-old's contrast risks.

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Cardiac MRI contrast agents are low-risk and safe for ‘overwhelming’ majority of patients

German researchers reported acute adverse effects in only 0.38% of contrast-enhanced exams, with few severe reactions.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

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