This book will familiarize the reader with recent advances in echo imaging technology with special emphasis on echo enhancing agents. Several important strides have been made in this field during the past few years, especially in the contrast enhancement of conventional and color Doppler images. The book begins with chapters on the history of contrast echocardiography, the principles of contrast echo and descriptions of new contrast agents capable of transpulmonary passage following intravenous injection. Safety issues in contrast echocardiography are also discussed. The second section of the book deals with clinical uses of echo contrast agents. Their usefulness in the identification of cardiac structures and assessment of pathological lesions using both transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography are fully discussed. Technical and practical considerations in the use of various contrast agents are also described. The use of contrast echo in the identification of cardiac sources of embolism as well as possible mechanisms and clinical significance of spontaneous contrast echoes are also covered. Six chapters fully discuss the basics of contrast enhancement of conventional and color Doppler images and its clinical utility in the noninvasive assessment of pulmonary artery pressure, regurgitant and stenotic lesions and in the delineation of coronary arteries. Another chapter describes the non-cardiac applications of the echo contrast enhancement technique. The final section of the book investigates the role of echo contrast enhancement in quantitative cardiovascular analysis.

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Why a book on contrast echocardiography? Over the past dozen years enough experience has accumulated to warrant a more extensive treatment of this method. Furthermore, there are new developments that suggest increased clinical utility for contrast echocardiography in the future. This book aims to summarize the "state of the art" for those interested in echocardiography - presumably mainly cardiologists, but here and there those of a more technical bent will find useful information as well. We feel that a more basic understanding of microbubble dynamics is necessary to advance research for such applications as transmission through the lungs, videodensitometric quantitation of cardiac output, intracardiac shunts, etc. All of these topics are extensively dealt with. The reader will note that many of the clinical chapters are written by pediatric cardiologists. This is only natural, since shunt detection and analysis of flow relationships are relatively more important in congenital heart diseases, and cur rently represent the most important uses for contrast echo cardiography in day-to day practice.

This large format book is the definitive text on vascular surgery written by expert editors and contributors. It is well supported by exceptional illustrative material. The book is invaluable to all those who work in vascular laboratories as wel.l as internists, cardiologists, vascular laboratory directors and staff, general surgeons involved in vascular surgery and the vascular surgery community in general Noninvasive Vascular Diagnosis comprehensively covers all aspects of noninvasive evaluation of the circulatory system in the extremities. The increasing popularity of noninvasive techniques is not reflected in the number of comprehensive works on the topic and it is clear from the success of the first edition that the demand for an updated volume is increasing.

Since the publication of the second edition of this volume, 3D echocardiography has penetrated the clinical arena and become an indispensable tool for patient care. The previous edition, which was highly commended at the British Medical Book Awards, has been updated with recent publications and improved images. This third edition has added important new topics such as 3D Printing, Surgical and Transcatheter Management, Artificial Valves, and Infective Endocarditis. The book begins by describing the principles of 3D echocardiography, then proceeds to discuss its application to the imaging of • Left and Right Ventricle, Stress Echocardiography • Left Atrium, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy • Mitral Regurgitation with Surgical and Nonsurgical Procedures • Mitral Stenosis and Percutaneous Mitral Valvuloplasty • Aortic Stenosis with TAVI / TAVR • Aortic and Tricuspid Regurgitation • Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Aorta • Speckle Tracking, Cardiac Masses, Atrial Fibrillation KEY FEATURES In-depth clinical experiences of the use of 3D/2D echo by world experts Latest findings to demonstrate clinical values of 3D over 2D echo One-click view of 263 innovative videos and 352 high-resolution 3D/2D color images in a supplemental eBook.

This book provides an up-to-date overview on the clinical value of contrast agents in ultrasound. The volume moves from a background section on technique and methodology to the main sections on the clinical application of contrast ultrasound in the liver and in vascular diseases. A final section discusses results and prospects of contrast ultrasound modality in the other fields.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging" that was published in Applied Sciences