超声分子成像的研究进展

超声成像无创、无放射性、低成本、实时成像的优点,使其成为目前世界上应用最广的成像手段之一。特别是超声造影剂引入之后,超声成像的图像分辨率和灵敏度得到了大大提高,使超声成像在临床上得到了进一步应用。近年来,随着分子生物学和超声成像技术的不断发展,人们提出了＂超声分子成像＂的概念。它是一项结合了分子靶向造影剂和超声影像技术的能在分子水平下观察病理变化的新兴技术,目前这一技术还处于研究初期阶段。但大量临床前的研究成果已表明超声分子成像在诊断血管生成、炎症和血栓三种疾病具有很大应用前景。本文主要综述了目前常用超声造影剂的种类以及超声分子成像技术的研究现状,并对该技术进行了讨论和展望。

Advance in Ultrasound Molecular Imaging

Ultrasound imaging is one of the most widely used imaging techniques in the world due to its non-invasive, non-radioactive, cheap and real-time imaging features. The introduction of ultrasound contrast agents improves the sensitivity and resolution of ultrasonic images, further expanding the application of ultrasound imaging in clinical practice. In the recent years, the concept of ultrasound molecular imaging was put forward with the development of molecular biology and ultrasound imaging technology. This new technology, which combines ultrasound technology with molecule-targeted contrast agents for assessing the biological processes at the molecular level, is still in its infancy. However, many preclinical studies have showed that ultrasound molecular imaging showed prospect in assessing angiogenesis, inflammation, and thrombus. This review outlines the recent progress in ultrasound contrast agents and the potential applications of ultrasound molecular imaging in the clinical practice. The existing problems and future directions of ultrasound molecular imaging technology were also proposed at the end of the paper.