From Hitachi Medical Corporation (HMC);
The HI VISION™ 6500 - EUB-6500 high resolution digital ultrasound system offers advanced clinical imaging, enhanced operating efficiency, and remarkable clinical flexibility, all in robust and versatile configuration that simply represents a better clinical solution in a variety of real-world, real-work arenas.

The earliest introduction of vascular ultrasound contrast agents (USCA) was by Gramiak and Shah in 1968, when they injected agitated saline into the ascending aorta and cardiac chambers during echocardiographic to opacify the left heart chamber. Strong echoes were produced within the heart, due to the acoustic mismatch between free air microbubbles in the saline and the surrounding blood.

(HyCoSy) Hysterosalpingo contrast sonography is used for evaluation of fallopian tube patency in patients with fertility problems who underwent transvaginal sonography. HyCoSy compared to more invasive techniques such as chromo-laparoscopy is rapidly becoming the screening test of choice to determine tubal patency.
Any body cavity that can be accessed can, in principle, be injected with vascular contrast. The contrast agent is instilled into the uterine cavity via a small Foley type catheter and, using transvaginal echography, the passage of the echogenic contrast along the tubes and into the adnexal peritoneum is tracked.
Hysterosalpingo contrast sonography does not offer the same anatomical and false negative results, e.g., because of tubal spasm, are possible so conventional X-ray salpingography is needed when tubal surgery is an option.

See also Endocavitary Echography, Transvaginal Sonography.

From Bayer Schering Pharma AG:
Available in Europe since 1996 and in Japan since 1999. Currently, the marketing situation is unclear.
Levovist® is a first generation USCA consisting of galactose (milk sugar) ground into tiny crystals whose irregular surfaces act as nidation sites on which air pockets form when it is suspended in water, much as soda water bubbles form at small irregularities on the surface of the glass. A trace of palmitic acid is added as a surfactant to stabilize the resultant microbubbles. When Levovist® dissolves in blood, air trapped inside the galactose is released as free gas bubbles. These bubbles have a weak encapsulating shell and are easily destroyed by ultrasound.
Different contrast ultrasonography methods have been developed since the introduction of Levovist®. Initially, Levovist® was an echo contrast medium for improving sensitivity in color Doppler and Power Doppler examinations, but was found to suffer from significant blooming, making it difficult to observe small blood vessels. However, Levovist® improves the accuracy of echocardiographic examinations in such indications as assessment of left ventricular function.
In addition to their vascular phase, some ultrasound contrast agents (USCAs) can exhibit a tissue- or organ-specific phase. Levovist® can accumulate within the liver and the spleen for up to 20 min once it has disappeared from the blood pool and improves the detectability of focal liver lesions and allows more reliable control of interventional tumor treatments. Varied types of information can be obtained by applying contrast imaging at different times after the injection using Levovist® in both the arterial phase and the late organ-specific phase.
1 g Levovist® granules contain 999 mg D-galactose and 1 mg palmitic acid.
Brand names in other countries: Levovist/Levograf

From Siemens Medical Systems;
'This high-performance, multi-specialty system supports and improves your daily ultrasound routine. Embedded DICOM creates the integrated foundation for a complete connectivity solution while MultiHertz™ multiple frequency imaging and Tissue Harmonic Imaging (THI) expands the clinical versatility of the system. Advanced applications such as stress echo, SieScape™ panoramic imaging, and transesophageal imaging can be seamlessly integrated.'