Is there a future for conventional Ultrasound Contrast Imaging?

Stabilised microbubbles (MB) are used for the assessment of perfusion in the clinical imaging modality of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The consensus in the scientific community is that the research progress of the field over the last 25 years has been slower than originally envisaged. In reviewing the achievements of the field since its inception in 1968 it is important to appreciate that the new territories that CEUS had to explore are in the areas of physics, signal and image processing, and in vivo implementation. This ever growing multidisciplinary effort has overcome many challenges that were not originally anticipated. However, current methodologies remain intensity based. Given that ultrasound imaging has a highly variable point spread function and is highly operator dependant, the measurement of physiological blood flow parameters with high reproducibility is doubtful. Therefore the title question remains.