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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Ultrasound Med Biol. 2013 Feb 27;39(5):893–902. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2012.11.017

Figure 1.

Figure 1

A) Typical MCA approach to USMI: Circulating targeted MCAs adhere to vascular markers and accumulate over time. Targeted MCAs remaining after the number of free-circulating MCAs has diminished enhance local contrast over background. B) A PCCA-based approach in which circulating PCCAs target vascular markers and are activated by a high-energy vaporization pulse. After activation, the remaining adherent microbubbles will provide high contrast compared to circulating liquid-state PCCAs. B) Alternatively, circulating PCCAs may be able to extravasate via the enhanced permeability and retention effect and target interstitial markers. Subsequent vaporization by a high-energy vaporization pulse would activate agents, resulting in targeted, high-contrast interstitial MCAs.