Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Point-of-Care Kidney and Genitourinary Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: June 21, 2024
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound of the feline kidney
Jennifer Kinns1, Lilian Aronson, Joe Hauptman
1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. jen_kinns@hotmail.com
Abstract:
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound offers a noninvasive means of subjectively and quantitatively evaluating renal perfusion in cats with renal disease, or in renal transplant patients. In this study, we characterized the pattern of ultrasonographic contrast enhancement in 16 normal feline kidneys in eight cats using contrast-enhanced power Doppler and contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasound techniques. Mean time to peak contrast enhancement for the whole kidney was longer using contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasound (16.8s, SD 4.7s) than contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound (12.2s, SD 1.8s). The time to peak enhancement for the cortex alone in contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasound was 13s (SD 3.2s), and for the renal medulla was 25.5s (SD 8.7s). The half time for washout of contrast agent was 39s (SD 14.5s) for contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasound. The pattern of contrast enhancement in these normal feline kidneys can be used as normal reference values for the evaluation of clinical patients. Contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasound may allow the differentiation between cortical and medullary perfusion patterns.
Related Concept Videos
Imaging Studies II: Ultrasonography
Imaging Studies I: Kidney, Ureter, and Bladder Studies
Imaging Studies III: Computed Tomography
Imaging Studies VII: Vascular Imaging
External Anatomy of the Kidney
The kidneys are located in the retroperitoneal space on either side of the vertebral column, protected posteriorly by the 11th and 12th ribs. The right kidney sits slightly lower than the left owing to the presence of the liver...
Imaging Studies V: Intravenous Urography and Retrograde Pyelography

