Assessment of the safety and efficacy of microbubble exposure in diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound

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Gas microbubbles coated with a surfactant or polymer shell have become well established as the most effective form of contrast agent for diagnostic ultrasound imaging. More recently, the use of coated microbubbles in therapeutic applications such as targeted drug delivery has also become an active area of research. However, their behaviour in vivo is by no means fully understood and the aim of this project is to investigate the hitherto neglected problem of microbubbles excited by an ultrasound field within the confines of narrow blood vessels. The work will involve a combination of theoretical modelling and both in vitro and in vivo experiments which will enable a more rigorous assessment of the safety of ultrasound contrast agents and the development of more effective ultrasound therapies.