'''Microbubbles have been the earliest and most widely used ultrasound contrast agents by virtue of their unique features: such as non-toxicity, intravenous injectability, ability to cross the pulmonary capillary bed, and significant enhancement of echo ...'

'''Ultrasound (US) imaging, due to its capabilities of real-time imaging, portability, low cost and favorable safety, is frequently used as a diagnostic modality for the visualization of different diseases. US imaging is currently the first step in ...'

'''Following a recent warning from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of certain ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) containing polyethylene glycol (PEG), the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) joins the International ...'

'''Ultrasound is extensively used in medical imaging, being safe and inexpensive and operating in real time. Its scope of applications has been widely broadened by the use of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) in the form of microscopic bubbles coated by a ...'

'''Initial reports from the 1960s describing the observations of ultrasound contrast enhancement by tiny gaseous bubbles during echocardiographic examinations prompted the development of the first ultrasound con- trast agent in the 1980s. Current ...'

'''Second-generation intravenous blood-pool ultrasound contrast agents are increasingly used inendoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for characterization of microvascularization, differentialdiagnosis of benign and malignant focal lesions, as well as improved staging ...'

'''Up until now infarct size has only been measured as part of clinical studies and not in routine clinical practice. The reason being that the reference method of gadolinium based contrast agents in MRI is expensive, takes a great deal of time to perform, ...'

'''Contrast agents have opened up entirely new possibilities are taking shape for ultrasound, above all in oncology. Following the publication of guidelines on the clinical use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) by the European Federation of Societies ...'

'''New studies reflecting use in more than 5 million patients show that ultrasound contrast agents present an extremely small risk to patients while improving the accuracy of ultrasound diagnoses and, in many cases, avoiding the need for risky and expensive ...'

'''Adverse events associated with microbubble contrast agents used in echocardiography appear to be rare, but the agents might carry some risk of serious harm and fatalities, particularly in women, according to FDA reviewers. The FDA is convening an ...'