Contrast Media: market research reports

Contrast media is a substance that enhances the visual information contained in an image generated by medical diagnostic equipment, including such modalities as traditional and digital x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and ultrasound, and by nuclear medicine modalities -- single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). Contrast media can either be swallowed or injected intravenously to enhance the contrast among anatomical structures in the image itself.

Today’s capabilities in clinical diagnostic radiology have been made possible by advances not only in diagnostic equipment, but also by the contrast media that facilitate the detailed visualization of the body’s internal structures, organs and tissue that would not otherwise be clearly seen. The high tolerance of contrast media has been achieved through developments in chemical pharmacological technology. For instance, one administration of x-ray contrast usually contains about 2,000 times as much iodine as found in the total physiological body, and yet it is cleared from the system rapidly and naturally, usually with no adverse effects.

Although bones are readily apparent on radiographic images, other organs and tissues are not. Contrast media may be utilized during a medical imaging procedure to highlight specific parts of the body and make them easier to visualize. it can also improve the contrast of images created by x-ray and CT techniques, as well as by those images created by MR imaging (MRI), ultrasound and nuclear medicine modalities. This additional contrast makes possible more precise diagnoses.