Contrast imaging agent with dissolved gas-evolving fluid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020353103-A1
Application number	US-202016940601-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 28, 2020
Priority date	Feb 20, 2015
Publication date	Nov 12, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A diagnostic contrast composition includes a carrier fluid and a non-decaying gas-evolving fluid incorporated in the carrier fluid. The gas-evolving fluid has a vapor pressure sufficient to evolve the gas from a circulatory system within a lung of a patient. The gas-evolving fluid is a composition containing a sufficient quantity of atoms with an atomic number higher than 8 to provide an increased absorption sufficient to increase a Hounsfield Unit measurement in an image in a CT imaging system. The gas-evolving fluid is selected from the group consisting of xenon gas, krypton gas, sulfur hexafluoride, a perfluorocarbon, a brominated perfluorocarbon, and combinations thereof. The carrier fluid is selected from the group consisting of water, saline, saline comprising one or more blood proteins, and saline comprising dissolved lipids.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A method for making a diagnostic contrast composition for imaging an airspace of a lung of a patient, the method comprising:
dissolving a non-decaying gas-evolving liquid in a carrier fluid, wherein the gas-evolving liquid is sulfur hexafluoride, a perfluorocarbon, a bromoperfluorocarbon, or a combination of any thereof and has a vapor pressure sufficient to evolve a gas from a circulatory system within a lung of a patient.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas-evolving liquid a perfluorocarbon.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising augmenting a concentration of the gas-evolving liquid by dissolving the gas-evolving fluid in the carrier fluid at a pressure 1.5 atm to 30 atm.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas-evolving liquid is a composition containing a sufficient quantity of atoms with an atomic number higher than 8 to provide a Hounsfield Unit measurement to affect an image in a CT imaging system.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the carrier fluid is selected from the group consisting of water, saline, a perfluorocarbon, saline comprising one or more blood proteins, and saline comprising dissolved lipids.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising dissolving at least one liquid or dissolved X-ray contrast imaging agent in the carrier fluid.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising dissolving, suspending, or emulsifying at least one concentration-augmenting composition in the carrier fluid to augment a concentration of the gas-evolving liquid.

8 . A method for imaging an airspace of a lung of a patient, the method comprising:
injecting a diagnostic contrast composition comprising a carrier fluid and a CT-active amount of a non-decaying gas-evolving liquid into a circulatory system of the patient wherein the gas-evolving liquid is sulfur hexafluoride, a perfluorocarbon, a bromoperfluorocarbon, or a combination of any thereof and has a vapor pressure sufficient to evolve the gas from a circulatory system within the airspace of the lung of the patient; and imaging at least a portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung using a CT or MR medical imager to produce at least a first image of the at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung, wherein imaging at least a portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung is performed during at least one of: an inhalation period, a breath-hold period, and an exhalation period.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein imaging at least a portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung is performed at a predetermined delay period after injection of the diagnostic contrast composition to allow the gas-evolving liquid to be delivered to the lungs by the circulatory system of the patient.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising imaging at least a portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung to produce at least a second image of the at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung after a predetermined delay period after injection of the diagnostic contrast composition,
wherein the at least the second image is collected during at least one of an inhalation period, a breath-hold period, and an exhalation period.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the gas-evolving liquid is a composition containing a sufficient quantity of atoms with an atomic number higher than 8 to provide a Hounsfield Unit measurement to affect an image in a CT imaging system.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the diagnostic contrast composition further comprises at least one liquid or dissolved X-ray contrast imaging agent in the carrier fluid and wherein imaging at least the portion of the lung comprises computed tomographic imaging of the at least one liquid or dissolved X-ray contrast imaging agent in at least a portion of a tissue of the lung.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the first image and a second image are a combined image of the at least one liquid or dissolved X-ray contrast imaging agent in the tissue of the lung and the CT-active amount of the non-decaying gas-evolving liquid in the airspace of the lung.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the non-decaying gas-evolving liquid is a perfluorocarbon.

15 . The method of claim 8 , wherein imaging at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung using the CT or MR medical imager to produce at least the first image of the at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung comprises taking one or more high-dose, high resolution first images of at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein imaging at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung using the CT or MR medical imager comprises taking at least one or more low-dose, low resolution second images of at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising dynamically analyzing data associated with the one or more high-dose, high resolution first images of at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung; and the at least one or more low-dose, low resolution second images of at least the portion of the lung and the airspace of the lung.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein dynamically analyzing data comprises performing one or more of a pharmacokinetic analysis and a compartmental analysis of the airspace.

Assignees

• Bayer Healthcare Llc

Inventors

• Uber Iii Arthur

Classifications

• A61K49/0433

  containing an organic halogenated X-ray contrast-enhancing agent · CPC title

• A61B8/481

  involving the use of contrast agents, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream · CPC title

• A61B6/00

  Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis; Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis combined with radiation therapy equipment (instruments measuring radiation intensity for application in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting, G01T1/161) · CPC title

• A61B6/037

  Emission tomography · CPC title

• A61B6/032

  Transmission computed tomography [CT] · CPC title