Transcranial color-coded real-time sonography in adults.

We investigated the diagnostic potential of transcranial color-coded real-time sonography in 52 individuals using a phased-array ultrasound system with color-coded blood flow representation. Ultrasound scans in the axial and coronal planes were feasible through temporal acoustic bone windows in 49 subjects, enabling depiction of the main parenchymal and vascular structures as well as the ventricular system. Color-coded representation of blood flow in the cerebral vessels allowed unequivocal identification of the circle of Willis within the anatomic black-and-white B-mode image of the parenchymal structures. In Doppler mode, vascular blood flow phenomena may be analyzed semiquantitatively using the Doppler frequency spectrum. This noninvasive, serially applicable, mobile beside method may complement conventional neuroradiologic imaging methods, allowing on-line studies of functional processes within the adult brain.