Medical imaging contrast devices, methods, and systems

1. A method of controlling an imaging signal through microbubble fragmentation, comprising:

fabricating and storing microbubbles at a first time, and at a later time, recovering pre-fabricated microbubbles;

introducing pre-fabricated microbubbles into a portion of a host;

bursting the microbubbles using an external acoustic force; and

imaging the portion of the host using an imaging device;

the microbubbles being configured to include a paramagnetic inhomogeneity at a gas-liquid interface when intact, and are further configured such that the paramagnetic inhomogeneity disappears after the bursting of the microbubbles, and

controlling the imaging signal responsively to a state of the microbubbles, the state of the microbubbles being one of an intact and a fragmented state.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the imaging includes changing, using a controller, an imaging signal from a negative contrast to a positive contrast responsively to a time of microbubble fragmentation and generating at least one image responsively to at least one of a difference in magnitude of the negative and positive contrast and a rate of change from negative to positive contrast.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the imaging includes controlling an imaging signal intensity responsively to a concentration of the fragmented microbubbles.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the imaging includes controlling the imaging signal such that the imaging signal intensity increases with an increase of the concentration of the fragmented microbubbles.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the controlling is performed responsively to a concentration of a paramagnetic lanthanide bound to a fragmented microbubble membrane.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the imaging signal includes a magnetic resonance imaging signal and the imaging device includes one of a magnetic resonance imaging device and an ultrasound imaging device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microbubbles include a membrane enveloping a fluid, the paramagnetic inhomogeneity being generated by a paramagnetic lanthanide bound to a surface of the membrane.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the paramagnetic lanthanide is bound to the surface of the membrane by post-labeling.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the membrane includes a lipid coating and the paramagnetic lanthanide is bound to the lipid coated membrane by post-labeling.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the post-labeling includes:

functionalizing the membrane with a macrocyclic ligand; and

loading the paramagnetic lanthanide through chelation to the macrocyclic ligand which is conjugated to the membrane.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the macrocyclic ligand includes a metal chelating ligand.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the metal chelating ligand includes one of a 1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA), a 1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid monoacid mono(N-hydroxysuccinimide ester) (DOTA-NHS), or a (DTPA).

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the lipid coated membrane includes 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE).

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising reacting the macrocyclic ligand with a primary amino group on the lipid coated membrane.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the paramagnetic lanthanide includes gadolinium Gd 3+ .

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controlling of the image signal includes spatial and temporal control.

17. A method of real-time monitoring of location, intensity and dose of ultrasound energy deposition in a tissue, comprising:

introducing pre-fabricated microbubbles into a portion of a host;

bursting the microbubbles using ultrasound; and

imaging the portion of the host using an imaging device, the imaging including visualizing an ultrasound-induced microbubble destruction on an image generated using magnetic resonance imaging, the microbubbles including a fluid core, a membrane enveloping the fluid core, and a material bound to the membrane which is capable of creating a magnetic inhomogeneity at gas-liquid interfaces of the microbubbles, the pre-fabricated microbubbles being configured such that the magnetic inhomogeneity disappears after the bursting of the microbubbles,

wherein the image changes from a negative to a positive image contrast based on a concentration of material remaining on fragmented microbubble membranes.

18. A method of producing an image, comprising:

creating a magnetic inhomogeneity at gas-liquid interfaces of size-selected lipid-coated microbubbles by post-labeling;

introducing the microbubbles into a portion of a host;

bursting the microbubbles using ultrasound to thereby open a blood-brain-barrier (BBB) in the blood capillary endothelium of the host; and

imaging the blood-brain-barrier opening using an electromagnetic scanner, the imaging including visualizing ultrasound-induced microbubble destruction on an image generated using the electromagnetic scanner,

wherein the image changes from a negative to a positive image contrast based on a concentration of material remaining on fragmented microbubble membranes.

19. A system for producing an image, comprising:

a microbubble generator to generate lipid-coated microbubbles including a membrane enveloping a fluid and a material bound to the membrane, the material being capable of creating a magnetic inhomogeneity at gas-liquid interfaces of the microbubbles;

an ultrasound device to burst the microbubbles after insertion of the lipid-coated microbubbles into a host; and

an imaging device to image a portion of the host after insertion of the lipid-coated microbubbles into the host;

the imaging device being further configured to allow for visualizing ultrasound-induced microbubble destruction,

wherein the image changes from a negative to a positive image contrast based on a concentration of the material remaining on fragmented microbubble membranes.

20. A method of preparing and using a plurality of paramagnetic material-bound lipid microbubbles, comprising:

preparing a plurality of microbubbles, each microbubble including a lipid coated membrane encapsulating a fluid;

inserting the lipid-coated microbubbles into a holding device;

separating the microbubbles having a size within a predetermined size range from the rest of the microbubbles by applying centrifugation on the holding device,

collecting the microbubbles having a size within the predetermined range into a solid concentrate at an upper side of the holding device;

removing the microbubbles that are not in the solid concentrate from the holding device, so as to allow the separated microbubbles to be stored and transported in the holding device;

labeling the separated microbubbles with a paramagnetic material prior to using the microbubbles, wherein the labeling includes:

functionalizing the membranes of the separated microbubbles with a macrocyclic ligand; and

loading the paramagnetic material through chelation to the macrocyclic ligand which is conjugated to the membranes;

inserting the plurality of paramagnetic material-bound lipid microbubbles into a host;

bursting the inserted microbubbles using ultrasound; and

controlling an imaging signal responsively to a state of the microbubbles, the state of the microbubbles being characterizable as one of intact and fragmented.

21. A method of monitoring a location, intensity and/or dose of ultrasound energy deposition in a tissue, comprising:

introducing pre-fabricated microbubbles into a portion of a host;

bursting the microbubbles using ultrasound; and

imaging the portion of the host using an imaging device, the imaging including visualizing an ultrasound-induced microbubble destruction on an image generated using magnetic resonance imaging, the microbubbles including a membrane and a material bound to the membrane which is capable of creating a magnetic inhomogeneity at gas-liquid interfaces of the microbubbles, the microbubbles being configured such that the magnetic inhomogeneity disappears after the bursting of the microbubbles,

wherein the image changes from a negative to a positive image contrast based on a concentration of the material remaining on fragmented microbubble membranes, and

wherein the imaging includes changing, using a controller, the imaging signal from the negative contrast to the positive contrast responsively to a time of microbubble fragmentation and generating at least one image responsively to at least one of a difference in magnitude of the negative and positive contrast and a rate of change from negative to positive contrast.