Tumour Diagnostics of the Liver with Echo Enhancers

This atlas covers "virgin territory" in the field of sonography. Cultivation of this territory has been made possible by the development of a signal enhancement agent consisting of gas microbubbles which are able to pass through the lungs and are capable of resonance and by the technical realisation of second harmonic imaging. The authors have 2 years' experience of this technique in ultrasound diagnostics and have obtained sensational images of liver tumour vascularity. Working from the wash-in and wash-out behaviour of echo enhancers in hepatic arteries and portal veins and characteristic sonographic images (power angiograms), the authors have identified contrast phenomena, that are typical for various types of lesions. Attention to contrast kinetics is crucial for accurate diagnostic of liver lesions in sonography. This atlas differs from other books on ultrasound, in that it shows the future of vascular and tumour diagnostics.