New Lantheus Medical Imaging Study Finds Significant Survival Benefit for Critically Ill Patients Undergoing Contrast-Enhanced Echocardiography

N. BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, today announces new data regarding the use of DEFINITY® Vial For (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension. A large, retrospective study (abstract number 1027-265) presented by Dr. Michael Main at the 58th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology held in Orlando, Florida, demonstrated that use of contrast-enhanced echocardiography was associated with a significantly improved short-term survival among critically ill, intensive care unit (ICU) patients, when compared with matched patients receiving non-contrast echocardiography. Patients who received contrast exhibited a 26 percent lower risk of short-term mortality within 48 hours after the exam when compared with patients who received echocardiography without the ultrasound contrast agent. Transthoracic echocardiography, the most common type of echocardiogram, uses a transducer on a person’s chest to send high frequency ultrasound waves through the chest wall to the heart to create pictures of the heart that physicians can then analyze.1 DEFINITY® is used to improve the images of suboptimal non-contrast echocardiograms.