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 increment in echo intensity that were not evident with routine gray‐scale imaging. Thus, realtime color coding may improve the detection of myocardial perfusion with echocardiographic contrast agents. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.