FOCUSING ON SAFE,  LOW-COST “CONTRAST ULTRASOUND”

New international society, ICUS, unifies diverse medical specialties
to focus on role of contrast ultrasound in improved patient care worldwide 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (USA) - September 18, 2008 -- Medical professionals from around the world are welcoming the formation of International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) -- the only international and cross-disciplinary professional society exclusively devoted to the field of contrast ultrasound and its role in improving patient care worldwide.

The new organization was launched today at the opening session of the 23rd annual international conference of contrast ultrasound specialists, “Advances in Contrast Ultrasound: Enhanced Atherosclerotic Imaging and Interventions,” in Chicago.

ICUS brings together medical professionals from around the world representing the fields of cardiology, radiology, gastro-intestinal medicine, vascular medicine, internal medicine, hepatology, and other specialties and basic science disciplines -- all focused on improving patient care by expanding the safe and appropriate use of contrast ultrasound imaging for more accurate and reliable noninvasive diagnosis of patients with diverse, and sometimes life-threatening, abnormalities.

Contrast ultrasound is an enhanced form of ultrasound imaging that uses contrast agents to improve the quality and accuracy of ultrasound scans, permitting more accurate diagnosis of medical conditions and the monitoring of patient responses to various treatments. Contrast agents are liquid suspensions of biocompatible gas-filled microspheres. When injected into a patient’s arm vein during an ultrasound exam, the contrast agents flow unimpeded through the patient’s circulatory system, mimicing the flow patterns of red blood cells while producing enhanced ultrasound reflectivity.