In 3D ultrasound (US) several 2D images are acquired by moving the probe across the body surface or rotating inserted probes. 3D-mode uses the same basic concept of a 2D ultrasound but rather than take the image from a single angle, the sonographer takes a volume image. The volume image that is displayed on the screen is a software rendering of all of the detected soft-tissue combined by specialized computer software to form three-dimensional images.
The 3D volume rendering technique (VR) does not rely on segmentation (segmentation techniques are difficult to apply to ultrasound pictures) and makes it possible to obtain clear 3D ultrasound images for clinical diagnosis. A 3D ultrasound produces a still image. Diagnostic US systems with 3D display functions and linear array probes are mainly used for obstetric and abdominal applications. The combination of contrast agents, harmonic imaging and power Doppler greatly improves 3D US reconstructions.

3D imaging shows a better look at the organ being examined and is used for:

Fusion 3D imaging methods for generating compound images from two sets of ultrasound images (B-mode and Doppler images) enable the observation of the structural relationships between lesions and their associated blood vessels in three dimensions (maximum intensity projection).

Albunex and Infoson, used mainly in cardiac evaluations, are first generation one-pass-only contrast agents and have been replaced by the new-generation contrast media. Albunex and Infoson are the same sonicated human serum albumin microbubbles. Infoson is licensed and manufactured in Europe, while Albunex was produced in the USA.
Albunex, an air-filled microbubble with a denatured albumin shell (modified from air-filled albumin microspheres prepared from sonicated 5% human serum albumin), was the first FDA-approved contrast agent, but is no longer in production.
Cardiac shunts and valve regurgitations are often evaluated with Color Doppler Imaging (CDI), which also improved with injections of Albunex, but this agent is pressure-sensitive and does not recirculate. It is effectively a one-pass-only agent, limiting its clinical efficacy.

See also First generation USCA, Echocardiography and Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound.

California-based research and development company. Alliance Pharmaceutical Corporation. The principal activities of the Company is identifying, designing, and developing novel medical products. The Company is engaged in development of scientific discoveries into medical products and licensing these products to multinational pharmaceutical companies in exchange for fixed payments and royalty or profit sharing payments. The Company has developed three innovative products through initial clinical (human) trials. The products are Oxygent™, Liquivent and Imavist™. The Company's strategy is to identify potential new medical products though its own efforts and scientific collaborations with researchers and clinicians in universities and medical centers. In Dec 2000 the company acquired Molecular Biosystems Inc a developer of intravenous ultrasound contrast agent for the heart.

'September 20, 2001 Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. announced that it has won a favorable Final Judgment from the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences regarding claims in U.S. Patent No. 5,558,854, which is owned by Nycomed Imaging, AS. The Final Judgment determined that claims made in the Nycomed patent with respect to 'microbubbles' that contain perfluorohexane filling gas are invalid and are therefore unpatentable.'
June 04, 2010, the company announced in their quartzerly report: 'We no longer have working capital to fund our operations. Because adequate funds have not been available to us in the past, we have already delayed our Oxygent development efforts and have eliminated our other product development programs.'

Ultrasound Contrast Agents:

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Amersham Health, now GE Healthcare was the imaging diagnostics and therapy business of Amersham plc. The imaging business produced contrast agents that are injected into the body to improve pictures obtained through medical imaging scans.

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From POINT Biomedical Corp
BiSphere™ is a technology for drug delivery applications by ultrasound. BiSpheres™ consists of microparticles comprising a shell of an outer layer of a biologically compatible material and an inner layer of biodegradable polymer. The core of the microbubbles contains a filling gas, liquid, or solid for use in drug delivery or as a contrast agent for ultrasonic contrast imaging. The contrast agent particles are capable of passing through the capillary systems of a subject. The drug-loaded biSpheres™ would be administered intravenously and freely circulate throughout the body, while the drug encapsulated within would remain biologically unavailable. The drug would only be released when the biSpheres become flooded when passing through an externally directed ultrasound field.
The use of biSpheres™ to transport agents to specific sites within the body is expected to substantially increase local efficacy while decreasing systemic side effects or adverse reactions. The biSpheres™ may also serve to protect labile agents from metabolism or degradation. The noninvasive release of a protected, encapsulated agent can be controlled by ultrasound imaging to a depth of 20-30 cm from the skin surface.
The flexibility in size control in the biSphere™ technology has enabled the construction of submicron ultrasound contrast agents suitable for lymphatic imaging, with a diameter in the submicron range. This agent, while much smaller in size than CardioSphere®, is based on the BiSphere configuration: a shell within a shell enclosing a gas. The inner layer, made from a biodegradable polymer, provides the physical structure and controls the acoustic response. The outer layer functions as the biological interface. Each of these layers has been independently tailored to fulfill the specific requirements for lymphatic imaging.