Eovist® (other brand name Primovist™) is a organ specific MRI contrast agent for the imaging, detection and characterization of liver conditions, including liver tumors, cysts, as well as other malignant and benign lesions. It is a water-soluble ethoxybenzyl derivative of Gd-DTPA. This compound is taken up by the hepatocytes (approximately 30% of the dose goes to the hepatocytes) and is equally excreted renal and biliary in humans. Excretion of Gd-EOB-DTPA in the bile may also permit visualization of both the gall bladder and the bile ducts.
Eovist® brightens the signal of T1 weighted MR images immediately after contrast administration. Dynamic and accumulation phase imaging can also be performed after bolus injection of Eovist®. The hepatocytes uptake will increase the signal intensity of normal liver parenchyma at 10 to 20 minutes after injection. This results in improved lesion-to-liver contrast because malignant tumors (metastases, the majority of hepatocellular carcinomas) do not contain either hepatocytes or their functioning is hampered.

WARNING: Gadolinium-based contrast agents increase the risk for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with acute or chronic severe renal insufficiency (glomerular filtration rate less than 30 mL/min/1.73m²), or acute renal insufficiency of any severity due to the hepato-renal syndrome or in the perioperative liver transplantation period.

See also Drug Development and Approval Process USA, Contrast Medium, Hepatobiliary Contrast Agents, Tumor Specific Agents and Molecular Imaging.

The contrast agents are either renal or hepatically excreted media, which stay in the intravascular/extracellular tissue compartment. The enhancement in the blood continues for as long as the contrast agent remains in the blood stream.
E.g. Dotarem®, Magnevist®, Omniscan®, ProHance®.

See Contrast Medium, Contrast Agents and Blood Pool Agents.

Short name: Fe-EHPG, central moiety: Fe2+
[Fe(EHPG)-] Iron(III) ethylenebis-(2-hydroxyphenylglycine) is a stable complex that has been tested in animals as a hepatobiliary contrast agent in MRI.

See also Hepatobiliary Contrast Agents, Hepatobiliary Chelates, and contrast agents.

Short name: SHU 555 A, generic name: Ferucarbotran
A RES-directed MRI contrast agent (SPIO) made-up of a colloidal sol of iron oxide nanoparticles coated with carboxydextran (Resovist®, Cliavist™).
It is used for the detection and characterization of especially small focal liver lesions and offers the opportunity to make a reliable diagnosis at a very early stage of patients with suspected liver tumors.
Bayer Schering Pharma AG announced that it has received marketing approval for the liver-specific contrast agent Resovist® in Japan. See Contrast Agents and Superparamagnetic Contrast Agents.

GE Healthcare is the result of the merger between GE Medical and Amersham Health in Nov. 2004, after GE acquired Amersham Health for 9.5 billion in Oct. 2003. Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive of General Electric, said, 'Amersham's diagnostic pharmaceutical and life sciences business will add new, high growth platforms to GE Medical's diagnostic imaging, services and healthcare information technology businesses'. GE Healthcare, a UK company, is a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE). GE Healthcare is a global leader in medical imaging, diagnostic imaging contrast agents, interventional procedures, healthcare services, and information technology. For more than 100 years, health care providers have relied on GE Medical Systems, now GE Healthcare, for high quality medical technology and productivity solutions. GE Healthcare, headquartered now at formerly seat of Amersham Health in Great Britain, operates facilities around the world. Global Operations include organizations on the Americas, Europe, and Asia, including India, Japan, Korea China, Thailand and Vietnam.

MRI Scanners:

0.2T to 1.0T:
to 1.5T:
to 3.0T:

MRI Contrast Agents: