Omnipaque is a low-osmolar, nonionic, contrast medium with a broad range of indications, for example intravascular diagnostic procedures such as coronary angiography, spinal cord imaging, and body cavity procedures including shoulder and knee joints. Omnipaque is approved for use in adults and children, and is available in a wide variety of packagings.

See also Nonionic Contrast Agents.

Omnipaque (iohexol) is a nonionic, low-osmolar contrast agent and is also available for oral use, offering gastrointestinal (GI) visualization with minimal side effects. Omnipaque has a neutral taste that even kids will drink.
Orally administered iohexol is poorly absorbed from the normal gastrointestinal tract. Omnipaque is well tolerated and absorbed if leakage into the peritoneal cavity occurs.
The recommended dosage of undiluted Omnipaque (at a concentration of for example 350 mg/mL) for computed tomography of the abdomen in adults is 500 mL to 1000 mL, diluted to concentrations of 6 mg/mL to 9 mg/mL. The oral dose should be administered about 20 to 40 minutes prior to the CT scan.

Visipaque is an iso-osmolar contrast agent. The osmolality equal to that of blood and the sodium and calcium concentration in a ratio equivalent to blood provides high patient safety and comfort.

E-Z-EM, Inc. is headquartered in New York and develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic imaging products.
The business of E-Z-EM encompasses CT imaging, virtual colonoscopy, gastro devices and accessories, and healthcare decontaminants. E-Z-EM is also a third-party contract manufacturer of contrast media. The company provides contract manufacturing services in various product areas, including pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, as well as the marketing of radiological medical devices, such as entry biopsy needles and mammography wipes and related accessories.
Bracco Diagnostics, Inc. , the US-based subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A. and part of the Bracco Group, announced in Oct. 2007 that it has entered into a merger agreement to acquire E-Z-EM, Inc. (NASDAQ: EZEM) for a total consideration of about $ 240 million . Upon completion of the procedure and subject to the approval of the regulatory authorities, Bracco Diagnostics Inc. will incorporate E-Z-EM.

Imaging refers to the visual representation of an object. Today, diagnostic imaging uses radiology and other techniques, mostly noninvasive, to create pictures of the human body. Diagnostic radiography studies the anatomy and physiology to diagnose an array of medical conditions. The history of medical diagnostic imaging is in many ways the history of radiology. Many imaging techniques also have scientific and industrial applications. Diagnostic imaging in its widest sense is part of biological science and may include medical photography, microscopy and techniques which are not primarily designed to produce images (e.g., electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography).
Brief overview about important developments:
Imaging used for medical purposes, began after the discovery of x-rays by Konrad Roentgen 1896. The first fifty years of radiological imaging, pictures have been created by focusing x-rays on the examined body part and direct depiction onto a single piece of film inside a special cassette.
In the 1950s, first nuclear medicine studies showed the up-take of very low-level radioactive chemicals in organs, using special gamma cameras. This diagnostic imaging technology allows information of biologic processes in vivo. Today, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) play an important role in both clinical research and diagnosis of biochemical and physiologic processes.
In the 1960s, the principals of sonar were applied to diagnostic imaging. Ultrasound has been imported into practically every area of medicine as an important diagnostic tool, and there are great opportunities for its further development. Looking into the future, the grand challenges include targeted contrast imaging, real-time 3D or 4D ultrasound, and molecular imaging. The earliest use of ultrasound contrast agents (USCA) was in 1968.
The introduction of computed tomography (CT/CAT) in the 1970s revolutionized medical imaging with cross sectional images of the human body and high contrast between different types of soft tissues. These developments were made possible by analog to digital converters and computers. First, spiral CT (also called helical), then multislice CT (or multi-detector row CT) technology expanded the clinical applications dramatically.
The first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices were tested on clinical patients in 1980. With technological improvements including higher field strength, more open MRI magnets, faster gradient systems, and novel data-acquisition techniques, MRI is a real-time interactive imaging modality that provides both detailed structural and functional information of the body.

Today, imaging in medicine has been developed to a stage that was inconceivable a century ago, with growing modalities:
x-ray projection imaging, including conventional radiography and digital radiography;
All these types of scans are an integral part of modern healthcare. Usually, a radiologist interprets the images. Most clinical studies are acquired by a radiographer or radiologic technologist. In filmless, digital radiology departments all images are acquired and stored on computers. Because of the rapid development of digital imaging modalities, the increasing need for an efficient management leads to the widening of radiology information systems (RIS) and archival of images in digital form in a picture archiving and communication system (PACS). In telemedicine, medical images of MRI scans, x-ray examinations, CT scans and ultrasound pictures are transmitted in real time.

See also Interventional Radiology, Image Quality and CT Scanner.