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Evidence for Spleen-specific Uptake of a Microbubble Contrast Agent: A Quantitative Study in Healthy Volunteers¹

¹ From the Imaging Sciences Department, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre (A.K.P.L., N.P., R.J.E., S.D.T.R., D.O.C., M.J.K.B.) and Department of Medicine A, Faculty of Medicine (N.P., S.D.T.R.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, DuCane Rd, London W12 0HS, England. Received April 7, 2003; revision requested June 24; final revision received November 6; accepted November 20. Supported by Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Bracco, Milan, Italy. A.K.P.L. supported by the United Kingdom National Health Service Research and Development Initiative and the Kodak Scholarship, Royal College of Radiologists. Address correspondence to A.K.P.L. (e-mail: a.lim@imperial.ac.uk).

View larger version (76K): [in a new window]   Figure 1. Longitudinal US image shows the placement of regions of interest (circles) at approximately the same depth in the spleen and left kidney in a volunteer after injection of 1.2 mL of BR1. The amount of BR1 in each organ at a particular time was calculated as the number of green pixels in the designated region, expressed as a percentage of the total number of pixels and was termed total uptake.

View larger version (96K): [in a new window]   Figure 2a. Longitudinal US images in one volunteer over time illustrate a typical series obtained with a low-power nondisruptive mode, in which stationary microbubbles are depicted in green, and microbubbles within vessels are shown as red or blue, depending on direction of flow. (a-c) Images of liver and right kidney obtained at (a) baseline, (b) 90 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (c) 5 minutes after injection. Note decreased number of green pixels in the liver and right kidney at 5 minutes. (d-f) Comparative images of spleen and left kidney obtained at (d) baseline, (e) 75 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (f) 5 minutes after injection. Note that the number of green pixels in the spleen at 5 minutes appears similar to that at 75 seconds.

View larger version (79K): [in a new window]   Figure 2b. Longitudinal US images in one volunteer over time illustrate a typical series obtained with a low-power nondisruptive mode, in which stationary microbubbles are depicted in green, and microbubbles within vessels are shown as red or blue, depending on direction of flow. (a-c) Images of liver and right kidney obtained at (a) baseline, (b) 90 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (c) 5 minutes after injection. Note decreased number of green pixels in the liver and right kidney at 5 minutes. (d-f) Comparative images of spleen and left kidney obtained at (d) baseline, (e) 75 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (f) 5 minutes after injection. Note that the number of green pixels in the spleen at 5 minutes appears similar to that at 75 seconds.

View larger version (100K): [in a new window]   Figure 2c. Longitudinal US images in one volunteer over time illustrate a typical series obtained with a low-power nondisruptive mode, in which stationary microbubbles are depicted in green, and microbubbles within vessels are shown as red or blue, depending on direction of flow. (a-c) Images of liver and right kidney obtained at (a) baseline, (b) 90 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (c) 5 minutes after injection. Note decreased number of green pixels in the liver and right kidney at 5 minutes. (d-f) Comparative images of spleen and left kidney obtained at (d) baseline, (e) 75 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (f) 5 minutes after injection. Note that the number of green pixels in the spleen at 5 minutes appears similar to that at 75 seconds.

View larger version (89K): [in a new window]   Figure 2d. Longitudinal US images in one volunteer over time illustrate a typical series obtained with a low-power nondisruptive mode, in which stationary microbubbles are depicted in green, and microbubbles within vessels are shown as red or blue, depending on direction of flow. (a-c) Images of liver and right kidney obtained at (a) baseline, (b) 90 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (c) 5 minutes after injection. Note decreased number of green pixels in the liver and right kidney at 5 minutes. (d-f) Comparative images of spleen and left kidney obtained at (d) baseline, (e) 75 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (f) 5 minutes after injection. Note that the number of green pixels in the spleen at 5 minutes appears similar to that at 75 seconds.

View larger version (69K): [in a new window]   Figure 2e. Longitudinal US images in one volunteer over time illustrate a typical series obtained with a low-power nondisruptive mode, in which stationary microbubbles are depicted in green, and microbubbles within vessels are shown as red or blue, depending on direction of flow. (a-c) Images of liver and right kidney obtained at (a) baseline, (b) 90 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (c) 5 minutes after injection. Note decreased number of green pixels in the liver and right kidney at 5 minutes. (d-f) Comparative images of spleen and left kidney obtained at (d) baseline, (e) 75 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (f) 5 minutes after injection. Note that the number of green pixels in the spleen at 5 minutes appears similar to that at 75 seconds.

View larger version (70K): [in a new window]   Figure 2f. Longitudinal US images in one volunteer over time illustrate a typical series obtained with a low-power nondisruptive mode, in which stationary microbubbles are depicted in green, and microbubbles within vessels are shown as red or blue, depending on direction of flow. (a-c) Images of liver and right kidney obtained at (a) baseline, (b) 90 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (c) 5 minutes after injection. Note decreased number of green pixels in the liver and right kidney at 5 minutes. (d-f) Comparative images of spleen and left kidney obtained at (d) baseline, (e) 75 seconds after injection with BR1 (1.2 mL), and (f) 5 minutes after injection. Note that the number of green pixels in the spleen at 5 minutes appears similar to that at 75 seconds.

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Figure 3. Graph shows mean total uptake against time (seconds) in all the volunteers for the spleen (), liver (), and right () and left () kidneys. Gradients of best-fit straight lines are similar for the liver and both kidneys. However, gradient for the spleen is virtually a horizontal line, with all values 90%-99%.