The contrast enhancement refers to increasing the visibility of low contrast structures due to increased density of vessels and tissue containing contrast agents.

Iodinated contrast agents (typically iodine-substituted benzene derivatives) are bound either in nonionic or ionic compounds. Ionic contrast agents consist of the negatively charged anion and the positively charged cation. Used components of the anion are for example diatrizoate, iodamide, iothalamate or metrizoate and of the cation the sodium or meglumine ion. The osmotic pressure depends on the number of particles in solution. Ionic contrast agents have a greater osmolarity; double that of nonionic contrast agents due to delivering more iodine atoms per molecule.
Ionic contrast agents were developed first and are still in use depending on the examination. Iodine based contrast media are water soluble and as harmless as possible to the body. However, ionic agents have more side effects compared to nonionic contrast agents due to their high osmolarity.

See also Ionic Dimer.

The molecular structure of some iodinated contrast agents makes them suitable for the computer-tomographic examination of the biliary tract. Organic iodine compounds increase the attenuation of x-rays and the contrast between body tissues containing iodine and those tissues that do not contain iodine. The degree of opacification is directly proportional to the concentration and volume of the iodinated contrast agent (the total amount of iodine).
Biliary contrast agents can be taken orally, for example calcium iopodate, or intravenous meglumine iotroxate. The contrast media are excreted by the liver and concentrate in the gallbladder after passing the intrahepatic biliary tree and cystic duct.
Oral biliary contrast agents usually opacify the gallbladder after a few hours. If the gallbladder is removed, an intravenous cholegraphic agent is required and gallbladder CT can start 60 minutes after the beginning of contrast medium infusion.
The main limitation of the use of biliary contrast agents is the high rate of allergic reactions and of renal or hepatic toxicity. Caused by the potential for systemic toxicity with intravenous cholangiography, ultrasonography should be the preferred method for evaluation of the gallbladder and the bile ducts.

Contrast media injectors are part of the medical equipment used to deliver fluids in examinations such as CT, MRI, fluoroscopy and angiography. Many of these diagnostic imaging procedures include the administration of intravenous contrast agents to enhance the blood and perfusion in tissues.

Mainly there are two types of injector technology:
See also Single-Head Contrast Media Injector, Dual-Head CT Power Injector, Syringeless CT Power Injector.

The use of x-ray contrast agents in computed tomography (CT) began with a hand injection by the radiologist in the scan room. During its history, CT scanners have made great improvements in speed and image quality. Actual CT systems with multiple detectors allow scan times of a few seconds per body region. Some CT protocols require multiphase scans, where a body region is imaged with a single bolus of contrast in different blood flow phases. Automatic power (pressure) contrast media injectors are required to provide precise control of flow rate, volume and timing of injection. The use of a saline bolus following contrast administration reduces the volume of contrast required.

Most relevant topics for the use of a power injector in medical imaging procedures such as contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT):
Must have basic injector control options:
Examples of other injector control options:

(LCR) The low contrast resolution describes the ability to discriminate between tissues with slightly differences in attenuation properties. The LCR depends on the stochastic noise.
The low contrast resolution is usually expressed as the minimum detectable size of an image structure, for a fixed percentage difference in contrast relative to the adjacent background.
A strength of computed tomography (CT) is its ability to visualize structures of low contrast in an object, a task that is limited by noise and is closely associated with the radiation dose. For example, a reduction of the dose at constant spatial resolution affects the visibility of structures with low contrast (e.g. vessels in the liver), due to increased noise. The visibility of these low contrast structures can partly be improved by decreasing the spatial resolution, while keeping the dose constant.

See also CT Number, Image Quality and Low Contrast Detectability.