Ecocontrastografia epatica nel cane: studi preliminari

The purpose of this study is to determine the normal perfusion dynamics in the canine liver using sulphur hexafluoride (Sonovue®) as contrast medium. Its effects have been investigated measuring the changes in liver grayscale enhancement in 11 dogs. Each dog received two separate bolus contrast injection (0.03 ml/kg and 0.06 ml/kg). Two different setup of the ultrasound machine were considered. Time/Mean Pixel Value curves were generated for selected regions of the liver, at 2 and at 4 cm of depth. The influence of cardiac output, heart rate and respiratory rate upon the arterial phase time, portal phase time, equilibrium phase, time to peak, time to 50% peak and maximum pixel value were investigated