Improving the quantitative ability of contrast enhanced ultrasound perfusion imaging: effect of contrast administration rate and imaging plane orientation

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has demonstrated utility in the monitoring of blood flow in tissues, organs, and tumors. Current CEUS methods typically provide only relative image-derived measurements, rather than quantitative values of blood flow in milliliters/minute per gram of tissue. The purpose of this study is to validate CEUS-derived measurements of renal blood flow (RBF) with absolute values of ml/min per gram of tissue based on a calibrated flow probe. New information about the effects of parameters such as contrast agent administration rate and transducer positioning on two different image-derived measurements are provided.