Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Point-of-Care Kidney and Genitourinary Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: June 21, 2024
[Perfusion imaging of the kidney using contrast-enhanced phase-inversion ultrasound]
Beate M Stoeckelhuber1, Martin Wiesmann, Burkhard Kreft
1Institut für Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck. stoeckel@medinf.mu-luebeck.de
Purpose:
We evaluated different techniques of contrast-enhanced phase-inversion ultrasound to visualize renal perfusion.
Materials And Methods:
Levovist contrast-enhanced phase-inversion ultrasound with different levels of mechanical index and frame rate was performed in 20 kidneys. Analysis using a software algorithm for time-resolved perfusion imaging was compared to single-image analysis performed by three independent radiologists.
Results:
Optimal depiction of renal perfusion was achieved only by using a mechanical index which was high enough to destroy the microbubbles of the contrast agent (burst imaging) combined with a low frame rate (0.5 images/second). Renal cortex and medulla showed a homogeneous enhancement. Computer-assisted time-resolved perfusion analysis was applicable; it did not show additional Information to single-image analysis.
Conclusion:
Renal perfusion can be visualized using contrast-enhanced phase-inversion ultrasound. For depiction of bigger vessels, it is equal to B-mode ultrasound or Doppler mode techniques; however, it is superior for visualization of renal parenchymal perfusion.
Related Concept Videos
Imaging Studies VII: Vascular Imaging
Imaging Studies II: Ultrasonography
Imaging Studies V: Intravenous Urography and Retrograde Pyelography
Imaging Studies IV: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Imaging Studies III: Computed Tomography
Imaging Studies I: Kidney, Ureter, and Bladder Studies

