Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging Helps Streamline Hospital Workflows, Survey Says

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) often streamlines hospital workflows while providing safe, accurate and cost-effective diagnostic imaging, according to responses to a survey described today at a medical conference in Chicago.

Survey respondents said that CEUS offers reliable diagnostic information in real time using ultrasound systems that are readily available in many medical centers – providing an improved “same-day” diagnosis up-front and often eliminating the delays and costs associated with downstream magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) imaging, according to a presentation at the 39^th annual International Bubble Conference.

The survey of 104 CEUS practitioners, researchers and ultrasound industry professionals was administered jointly by the International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS),a nonprofit global professional society focused on CEUS education and utilization, and Inteleos, the governing and managing organization for the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography® (ARDMS®), the Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement™ (APCA™), and the Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certification Academy.

CEUS utilizes microbubble ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) that are infused intravenously during an ultrasound exam to enhance images. UCAs do not contain iodine or gadolinium and are not nephrotoxic.

“Contrast enhanced ultrasound gives patients a quick and very accurate diagnosis, and that helps hospitals deliver better and more cost-effective care while also moving patients through the system more efficiently,” said Dr. Jordan Strom, Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Strom also is an officer of ICUS.

“Our referring doctors love the immediate results that we can get from CEUS, and so do our patients, because if the results of the scan are good the patients will have peace of mind and if the results are concerning their therapy will not be delayed while they wait for additional unnecessary testing,” said Dr. Stephanie Wilson, Professor of Radiology at the University of Calgary and Co-President of ICUS.

“This relatively low cost imaging tool is recognized as the problem solver for all indeterminate CT and MR scans of the liver and kidney,” she added.

Survey respondents noted that CEUS helps improve efficiencies because it does not require sedation, anesthesia or the need to transport patients to “big scanners.”

The survey also found that 79% of clinician respondents believe that having an IV-trained sonographer increases CEUS utilization.

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ABOUT ICUS:

The International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) is a nonprofit medical society dedicated to advancing the safe and medically appropriate use of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to improve patient care globally. Membership in ICUS is free of charge and there is no fee for ICUS educational programs, CME credits, newsletters or other resources.

To join ICUS and learn more about CEUS, visit www.icus-society.org and download ICUS CONNECT, the free ICUS mobile app.