Ultrasound for Identification of Brain Damage in Infants and Young Children

Gray Scale Ultrasound Studies in Neonatal Infants with Malformation of the Brain

“…This ability of ultrasound to demonstrate intracranial anatomy is at present unique to the neonate, since as the child matures the skull vault thickens and becomes relatively impervious to the ultrasound beam. Ultrasound has been shown capable of demonstrating not only the anatomy but also intracranial pathology in the neonate, including intra cerebral hemorrhage, posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus, the assessment of progression and of arrested hydrocephalus following shunt procedures, and the detection of subdural and extradural collections [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][21][22][23][24], Although scanning through the fontanellesand open sutures has been more recently suggested as the technique of choice for examination of the periventricular area [25,26], in particular with a view to assessing germinal matrix hemorrhage and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus, such an approach provides only a limited window to the remainder of the intra cerebral structures; in particular the frontal lobes, the occipital lobes, and the posterior fossa are not well imaged. The use of the axial plane provides images of comparable anatomical section to those produced by CT.…”

“…Diagnostic ultrasound is a safe noninvasive technique utilising low energy ultrasonic waves that has been reported by others to be useful in the evaluation of infants with hydrocephalus and associated intracerebral abnormalities [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Two-dimensional echoenccphalography utilizing an automated ultrasound machine (octoson) [10] was used in the present study to diagnose brain malformations in 3 of the infants admitted to an intensive care nursery; in the fourth the diagnosis was made by lineararray, real-time ultrasound alone.…”