The anterior fontanelle as an ultrasound window for study of the brain: a preliminary report.

A conventional static ultrasound B scanner with a 6 mm diameter 5 MHz transducer was used to examine the brains of 12 infants between one week and eight months of age using the anterior fontanelle as an ultrasound window. High resolution pictures were obtained allowing assessment of cortical thickness, ventricular size and intracranial haemorrhage. Comparisons of these pictures with those obtained in the same patients by computerized tomography showed excellent correlation. Ultrasound is a simple, non-invasive diagnostic technique. In this small preliminary series its performance has altered the diagnosis and influenced the management in several cases.