UltraGel - Acoustic Coupling Gel for Ultrasound Imaging in Cardiac Surgery

Intraoperative (during surgery) ultrasound imaging is an important medical tool which affords surgeons the ability to monitor progress and to detect and prevent possible complications in real-time. The use of ultrasound imaging requires an acoustic couplant for generating the images. Despite increasing demand from surgeons, there are no sterile acoustic coupling gels approved for intraoperative use in open heart surgery ("by-pass"). Thus, many intraoperative ultrasound procedures are currently being performed with gels that are not approved for intraoperative use nor have suffient efficacy and safety data. The main objective of the UltraGel project is to develop an acoustic coupling gel for use in open cardiac surgery. The outcome of UltraGel will result in a unique and novel product for a global market, accelerating widespread use of ultrasound as a quality control in bypass procedures. The project is a collaboration between the companies SonoClear AS, Medistim ASA, the research institute SINTEF and Aalborg Uiversity Hospital.

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Intraoperative ultrasound imaging is an important tool which affords surgeons the ability to monitor progress and to detect and prevent possible complications in real-time. Despite increasing demand from surgeons, there are no sterile acoustic coupling gels approved for intraoperative use. Thus, many intraoperative ultrasound procedures are currently being performed with gels that do not conform to regulatory requirements. The main objective of UltraGel is to develop an acoustic coupling gel for use in open cardiac surgery. The outcome of UltraGel will result in a unique and novel product with a global market, triggering the more widespread use of ultrasound as a quality control in bypass procedures in open cardiac surgery. The project is a collaboration between the companies SonoClear AS, Medistim ASA, the research institute SINTEF and Aalborg Uiversity Hospital.