This reaction is not a common neutralization reaction so acids and bases would not necessarally be what would work the best. read more
Barium sulfate is, in fact, so insoluble in water that -despite the fact that it is poisonous- it can be fed to a person and it would pass through you without affecting them. This property is even used in medical science. read more
You can do exactly the same preparation using potassium sulfate and barium nitrate or barium chloride, basically any solutions of a soluble barium salt and a soluble sulfate salt can be used to prepare barium sulfate. read more
As such it can help distinguish two similarly attenuating tissues by virtue of one of them containing the barium. It practice, it is used as an oral or rectal contrast agent to outline and therefore characterise the gastrointestinal statement from the mouth to the anus. read more