[Examination of the extracranial carotid artery with a high resolution B scanner. A comparison with carotid angiography (author's transl)].

Patients with cerebro-vascular insufficiency in stages I to IV had their extracranial carotid arteries examined with a high resolution real time ultrasound scanner. In 227 cases, carotid angiograms were available for comparison. Provided good image quality was obtained, sonography was able to distinguish with certainty between a normal and a pathological narrowed vascular lumen. Mural changes could be shown down to 0.5 mm. Under suitable conditions it was possible to differentiate between smooth and irregular plaques. Occasionally, ulcers were visible. High resolutions real time sonography is the only noninvasive method which provides information on the appearance and movements of vascular walls and of changes within these. It is possible to detect atherosclerotic changes at an early stage without risk, and to observe their development.