[Initial experiences with a new color technique: ultrasound angiography]

The sonographic diagnosis can be expanded by Color Doppler. Nevertheless something is missing, especially concerning the demonstration of the very slow velocities as it can be found in neovascularized malignant tumors. A recently developed new color technique--the Angio-Color of the Diasonics Corporation, Sonotron (other companies have prototypes of this color)--promises to improve the detection of very low flow velocities. Due to a method very different to the conventional Doppler technique the registered signal is coded in the color image of the blood flow: that means that the amplitude and not the frequency shift is coded in color. Therefore there is less noise in the color mode with the possibility of showing the lower flow in comparison to the conventional Doppler. In Gynaecology and Obstetrics the advantages in the demonstration of the placental blood flow were obvious. In eutrophic fetuses the blood flow could be registered over the whole breadth of placenta, while in dystrophic fetuses this was possible only at the margin of the placenta with some color pixels in the middle of the organ. The conventional Color Doppler was not able to show the flow in the placenta even in eutrophic fetuses. Also the flow in fetal organs produced different results using both methods. So the angio-technique showed more color pixels in the periphery. In 8 malignant breast tumors both methods were able to show blood flow, but the Angio-Color showed more color pixels as the conventional color did.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)