<unk><unk>  renal ultrasonograph, showing a renal cell carcinoma successfully treated with thermal ablation, as no<unk> <unk> ent is seen. Unspecific cortical lesion on CT is confirmed cystic and benign with<unk><unk>  renal ultrasonography using image fusion.<unk>  <unk>  is the application of<unk> <unk>  medium to traditional medical sonography.<unk> <unk>  agents rely on the different ways in which sound waves are reflected from interfaces between substances. This may be the surface of a small air bubble or a more complex structure. Commercially available<unk>  media are gas-filled microbubbles that are administered intravenously to the systemic circulation. Microbubbles have a high degree of echogenicity (the ability of an object to reflect<unk>  waves). There is a great difference in echogenicity between the gas in the microbubbles and the soft tissue surroundings of the body. Thus, ultrasonic imaging using microbubble<unk>  agents<unk>  the<unk>  backscatter, (reflection) of the<unk>  waves, to produce a sonogram with increased<unk>  due to the high echogenicity difference.<unk>  can be used to image blood perfusion in organs, measure blood flow rate in the heart and other organs, and for other applications. Targeting ligands that bind to receptors characteristic of intravascular diseases can be conjugated to microbubbles, enabling the microbubble complex to accumulate selectively in areas of interest, such as diseased or abnormal tissues. This form of molecular imaging, known as targeted<unk> , will only generate a strong<unk>  signal if targeted microbubbles bind in the area of interest. Targeted<unk>  may have many applications in both medical diagnostics and medical therapeutics. However, the targeted technique has not yet been approved by the FDA for clinical use in the United States.<unk>  is regarded as safe in adults, comparable to the safety of MRI<unk>  agents, and better than radiocontrast agents used in<unk>  CT scans. The more limited safety data in children suggests that such use is as safe as in the adult population.
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound
Phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging
Radionuclide angiography
Angiography
Fluoroscopy
Angiology
Contrast CT
Magnetic resonance angiography