Contrast-enhanced ultrasound: beyond the liver

Most of the work and interest in CEUS has been focused on the liver, and therefore this technique has been established as a reliable tool for detection and characterization of liver lesions. However, microbubbles are distributed within the blood and appear wherever there is blood supply. The properties of Sono Vue and the high sensitivity of recent ultrasound equipment to the presence of microbubbles have shown that CEUS is potentially very useful in many organs and vascular structures. During the study of new possible applications of this technique, we found areas where CEUS, in selected cases, contributes significantly towards the diagnosis. Of these, the field of parenchymal trauma may at present be one of the most promising applications deserving more extensive study with the prospect of giving CEUS a central part in standard trauma procedures.