GE relaunches Optison ultrasound contrast agent in Europe
20 September 2011
GE Healthcare’s Medical Diagnostics division has announced the
market reintroduction of Optison (Perflutren protein-yype A microspheres
injectable suspension, USP), a diagnostic ultrasound contrast agent for
use in select echocardiograms, in Europe.
The product is currently available in Germany, Italy, Spain,
Austria, the Nordic countries and the UK with other countries
planned to follow in the near future. Optison is indicated for use
in patients with suboptimal echocardiograms with suspected or
established cardiovascular disease to provide opacification of
cardiac chambers, enhance left ventricular endocardial border
delineation with resulting improvement in wall motion visualisation.
"We are pleased that Optison is now available to cardiologists,
sonography professionals, echocardiography laboratory staff, and
most importantly patients,” said Debra Leeves, EMEA Marketing Leader
for Medical Diagnostics in GE Healthcare. “The product helps improve
the detection of heart disease by converting difficult-to-interpret
echocardiograms into clearer visualisations of the heart’s left
ventricle.”
“We are excited about the reintroduction of Optison because it
helps physicians obtain clear diagnostic cardiac ultrasound images
from patients who are difficult to image,” said Petros
Nihoyannopoulos, MD, Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College
London and Vice President of the International Contrast Ultrasound
Society. “Failure to use contrast in patients with suboptimal
images, particularly with regard to the cardiac apex and during
stress, may lead to misdiagnosis or require additional diagnostic
testing that could carry greater risks.”
Source: GE