GE Healthcare's Medical Diagnostics division has reintroduced Optison (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microspheres Injectable Suspension, USP), a diagnostic ultrasound contrast agent in Europe.
Optison is used in selected echocardiograms to indicate for use in patients with suboptimal echocardiograms with suspected or established cardiovascular disease.
The ultrasound contrast agent provides opacification of cardiac chambers, enhance left ventricular endocardial border delineation with resulting improvement in wall motion visualisation.
The recommended dose of this contrast agent is 0.5-3.0 mL, but the maximum total dose should not exceed 8.7 mL in any one patient study.
GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics EMEA marketing leader Debra Leeves said the product helps improve the detection of heart disease by converting difficult-to-interpret echocardiograms into clearer visualisations of the heart’s left ventricle.
International Contrast Ultrasound Society vice president and Imperial College Cardiology professor Petros Nihoyannopoulo said failure to use contrast in patients with suboptimal images, particularly with regard to the cardiac apex and during stress, may lead to misdiagnosis or require additional diagnostic testing that could carry greater risks.