Myocardial contrast echocardiography: enhancement of perfusion images by color coding

To determine whether real-time color coding enhances the detection of myocardial perfusion through the use of echocardiographic contrast agents, we used a recently developed real-time color system during contrast injection in six open-chest dogs. Small amounts of echocardiographic contrast were injected into the left atrium. Short-axis epicardial images were obtained with a 5-MHz transducer before and after left anterior descending artery ligation. Gray-scale and rainbow-color map images were obtained for each contrast agent. The color map allowed detection of small increments in echo intensity that were not evident with routine gray-scale imaging. Thus, real-time color coding may improve the detection of myocardial perfusion with echocardiographic contrast agents.