Echo contrast medium: How the use of contrast echocardiography (ultrasound contrast agents) can improve patient care

Table 1 Commercially available ultrasound contrast agents

Name	Manufacturer	First approved for clinical use	Gas	Shell composition	Countries
Optison	General Electric Healthcare, Buckinghamshire (United Kingdom)	1998	Octafluoropropane	Cross-linked serum albumin	Unites States, Europe
Definity/luminity	Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc, North Billerica (Massachusetts, United States)	2001/2006	Octafluoropropane	Phospholipid	North America, Europe
SonoVue/lumason	Bracco Diagnostics Inc (New Jersey, United States), Bracco Imaging S.p.A (Milan, Italy)	2001/2014	Sulfur hexafluoride	Phospholipid	United States, Europe, China, Brazil
Sonazoid1	General Electric Healthcare, Buckinghamshire (United Kingdom), Daiichi Saniko, (Tokyo, Japan)	2007	Perfluorobutane	Hydrogenated egg yolk phosphatidyl serine (HEPS)	Japan, South Korea, Norway, Taiwan, China
Albunex	Molecular Biosystems Inc., (California, United States)	1993, withdrawn	Air	Sonicated serum albumin	United States, Japan
Imagent/imavist	Schering AG	2002, withdrawn	Perfluorohexane, Nitrogen	Phospholipid	United States
Echovist	Schering AG	1991, withdrawn	Air	Galactose microparticles	United Kingdom, Germany
Levovist	Schering AG	1995, withdrawn	Air	Galactose microparticles, palmitic acid	Europe, Canada, Japan, China

¹Not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for any indication in the United States, but is approved for use in Japan, South Korea, Norway, and China for focal hepatic lesions depiction.