Study supports Acusphere agent

A study presented at last month’s American College of Cardiology meeting indicates that an ultrasound contrast agent under development by Acusphere of Cambridge, MA, could be used in a continuous mode. Imaging continuously with AI-700 could help clinicians overcome some of the shortcomings of other agents, which have short persistence times because their contrast-enhancing microbubbles break up under ultrasound beams. Acusphere believes that the AI-700 microbubbles may have longer persistence times because they are made from synthetic polymers. AI-700 is in phase I clinical trials.