Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
09:52
Non-invasive Optical Imaging of the Lymphatic Vasculature of a Mouse
Published on: March 8, 2013
16.8K
Long-lasting microbubble-enhanced super-resolution ultrasound imaging unveils lymphatic activity in lymph node
Jingyi Yin1, Feihong Dong2,3, Xiangui Zhang4
1Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Theranostics
|September 18, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a novel microbubble contrast agent and super-resolution ultrasound imaging to non-invasively assess lymph node immune function. This technique accurately evaluates vascular parameters, aiding in disease monitoring and immunotherapy response.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Vascular Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Lymph nodes are crucial for immune homeostasis and disease response.
- Current methods lack reliable non-invasive biomarkers for lymph node activity.
- Evaluating lymph node function is clinically significant.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a non-invasive imaging method for assessing lymph node function.
- To create a novel lipid-based microbubble contrast agent (SuperVue-MB).
- To integrate the agent with 3D super-resolution ultrasound (SRUS) for multiparametric hemodynamic visualization.
Main Methods:
- Developed a novel lipid-based microbubble contrast agent (SuperVue-MB).
- Utilized 3D super-resolution ultrasound (SRUS) imaging.
- Correlated SRUS-derived vascular parameters with micro-CT angiography and histopathology.
Main Results:
- SRUS-derived vascular parameters showed strong correlations with reference standards (r=0.86).
- Introduced a vascular subtyping strategy linking hemodynamic patterns to immune function.
- Found significant positive correlations between microbubble tracks and lymphatic vessel density (r=0.91).
Conclusions:
- The study presents a promising non-invasive approach for evaluating lymph node immune activation.
- Established a novel paradigm for sentinel lymph node metastasis surveillance.
- Offers a new method for monitoring immunotherapy response.
