This activity is presented as part of ICUS Grand Rounds

A TUTORIAL

Contrast-enhanced Cardiac Ultrasound
 

A certified one-hour live webinar for cardiologists, cardiac sonographers, radiologists, and radiologic technologists

Thursday • December 15, 2016

7:00 pm EASTERN • 6:00 pm CENTRAL
5:00 pm MOUNTAIN • 4:00 pm PACIFIC
 

Direct Link the Webinar!

If you are prompted for an EVENT NUMBER: #718 470 262

If you have trouble joining the webinar, contact the WebEx Technical Support team at 1-866-779-3239

Course Overview
Contrast-enhanced cardiac ultrasound, also called contrast echocardiography, improves the diagnostic applications of non-enhanced echocardiography, including delineation of the left ventricular endocardial borders to better assess ejection fraction and evaluation of blood perfusion and volume.(1) Recent studies have also shown that cardiac echo is also a reliable vehicle for drug delivery for diseases of the cardiovascular system.(2) Contrast echo has a high safety profile compared to contrast enhanced- CT and -MRI and is portable and cost-effective.

1. The  Basics. American Society of Echocardiography website. http://contrastzone.com/ Accessed October 17, 2016.
2. Castle J, Feinstein SB. Drug and Gene Delivery using Sonoporation for Cardiovascular Disease. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;880:331-338.

Educational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Explain how microbubbles enhance the reflectivity of sonographic images
• Describe patient indications for undergoing contrast echocardiography
• Discuss how cardiac ultrasound contrast agents  better delineate left ventricular function and assess blood flow and perfusion than non-contrast-enhanced echo
• Evaluate the benefits and risks of contrast echo
• Discuss recent studies on how contrast echo is showing promise for drug and gene delivery

ACCME Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and International Center for Postgraduate Medical Education. The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation
Physicians
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The European Accreditation Council for CME (EACCME®)
The UEMS-EACCME® has mutual recognition agreements with the American Medical Association (AMA) for live events and e-learning materials. For more information go to http://www.uems.eu/uems-activities/accreditation/eaccme.

Radiologic Technologists
This program has been approved by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) for 1.0 hour of ARRT Category A continuing education credit.

How to Enroll and Participate
This program is offered by ICPME through WebEx webinar service at no charge to the learner.

Credit cannot be granted for group viewing. To receive credit, each attendee must sign in on a separate computer.

• Click ENROLL NOW and follow the registration instructions to register with ICPME.
• You will receive an email from ICPME confirming your registration.
• At the end of the registration process, click on ACCESS WEBINAR to complete the pre-course survey as well as to register on the WebEx site.
• Detailed log-in instructions will be sent to you via e-mail the day before the webinar.

How to Receive Credit

• To receive credit, each participant must attend the entire session and complete the postcourse evaluation within 7 days after the presentation.
• Upon verification of your participation from the Webex event report, you will receive an email from ICPME two weeks after the event with instructions to print your certificate of credit. You will not be able to print your certificate until that time.
• Your certificate of credit will remain in your account at www.icpme.us as a permanent record of your participation.

Faculty

Steven B. Feinstein, MD, FACC, FESC
Professor of Medicine-Cardiology
Academic Cardiologist
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, IL

Dr. Feinstein received his medical education at University of Minnesota, followed by a residency in medicine at Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago and cardiology fellowship at UCLA/ Wadsworth VA in Los Angeles.

Currently Dr. Feinstein holds the title of Professor of Medicine-Cardiology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Feinstein is an academic cardiologist, authoring more than 330 scientific publications, and is a frequent journal reviewer and lecturer throughout the United States and Europe. He is an NIH-funded investigator and is internationally recognized for his leadership in the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) field, having developed the first two FDA-approved ultrasound contrast agents.

His clinical practice focuses on preventive cardiology and early diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities.

Dr. Feinstein’s initial work focused on the use of CEUS for cardiac imaging, which subsequently expanded to include CEUS assessment of vasa vasorum and carotid plaque. He also is developing therapeutic applications for CEUS that use ultrasound contrast agents to carry genes to the liver in order to increase the production of de novo HDL. 

The International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) was founded by Dr. Feinstein 30 years ago. He continues to serve as ICUS Co-President as well as Program Director of the annual international “Bubble Conference” (Advances in Ultrasound). Dr. Feinstein has spoken with the FDA and other government agencies on the superior safety profile of CEUS and its clinical usefulness for detecting heart disease and monitoring therapy.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) requires instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified COI are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to PIM policy.  The existence or absence of COI for everyone in a position to control content will be disclosed to participants prior to the start of each activity.

The faculty has reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Steven B. Feinstein, MD, FACC, FESC has ownership interest in Sonogene, LLC.

The following planners and managers have reported NO financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Trace Hutchison, PharmD
Linda McLean, MS
Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD, CHCP
Victoria Phoenix, BS           
Jan Schultz, RN, MSN, CHCP
Judi Smelker-Mitchek, MBA, RN, MSN

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. 

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Questions
For questions regarding this program, please contact ICPME:
Email: information@icpmed.com
Phone: 607-257-5860 X10

Jointly provided by

               
 

This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from GE Healthcare

Disclaimer
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.