Encapsulated gas or partial vacuum CT contrast material

Abstract

The present invention provides an encapsulated gas or partial vacuum particle contrast media for use in CT imaging. In an exemplary embodiment, the invention provides an enteric contrast medium formulation. An exemplary formulation comprises, (a) an enteric contrast medium comprising a encapsulated gas or partial vacuum particle suspended in water. Exemplary encapsulated gas or partial vacuum particle has a specific gravity between 0.2 and 1.5. In various embodiments, the encapsulated gas or partial vacuum particle is suspended in aqueous media by an agent compatible with enteric administration of the formulation to a subject in need of such administration. In an exemplary embodiment, the contrast material is incorporated into a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier in which the material is suspended homogeneously. In an exemplary embodiment, the encapsulated gas or partial vacuum particle comprises 5% or more of the weight of the contrast material formulation. The invention also provides methods for imaging of the abdomen by dual energy CT or spectral CT contemporaneously with the delivery of the encapsulated gas or partial vacuum particle contrast material into the bowel lumen with or without the deliver of a second complementary contrast material into the blood vessels or other body compartments. The invention also provides methods for the digital separation of CT signal produced by the contrast media of the invention from the CT signal produced by other contrast media or bodily tissues to generate multiple resultant CT images with the contrast medium of the invention subtracted or highlighted.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.