When the appointment of ultrasound of cerebral vessels in adults and children and the interpretation of the results

3 How is the diagnosis?

Usually, before carrying out ultrasound of the brain, a similar examination of the vessels of the neck is made, to establish the normal functioning of the blood flow and to prevent the identified causes of the disease due to circulatory irregularity. The ultrasound of the vessels of the head is done after examination of the brain. The purpose of such a comprehensive survey is to identify various anomalies in the work of the brain, as well as pathologies and neoplasms. In the diagnosis of the cerebral vasculature, the following data can be identified:

• rate of circulation;
• the thickness of the veins and the sites of their constriction;
• causes migraine;
• thrombi, atherosclerosis and vascular disturbances;
• blood outflow;
• dangerous expansion of the arteries.

Diagnosis of cerebral vessels can be divided into 2 types: transcranial dopplerography and study of extracranial vessels. These two types are made by three methods of investigation.

Ultrasonic dopplerography - the installation of sensors on some parts of the head.

Duplex scanning is the combination of the sensor installation and the conventional ultrasound method.

Triplex scanning - this is the previous 2 types, combined with color differentiation of the speed of circulation in the veins, arteries and vessels.

The arterial and venous system directly affect the work of the brain, so when checking the blood vessels, a number of possible diseases are excluded. Now consider what the ultrasound of the brain shows:

• hemorrhage;
• presence of neoplasms;
• change in intracranial space in an adult and a child( with possible head injuries);
• pathology of liquor spaces;
• hydrocephalus;
• infectious and inflammatory processes;
• occlusion of vessels and narrowing of lumens between them;
• atherosclerotic plaques;
• thrombi and their localization;
• vascular aneurysm;
• vascular malformation;
• the state of the valves of the vessels and the patency of the arteries.

Recently, specialists are actively using duplex ultrasound scanning. It shows ultrasound of the brain with the detection of various types of anomalies of its vessels.

The procedure for the examination itself is not painful. Observance of special diets before scanning is not required( except for the prohibition of tobacco and alcohol).A special gel is applied to the inspection site, which improves the visibility of the waves emitted by the instrument and their reflections. Then the equipment is set up, and only then a remote sensor is applied to the inspection site. It is turned at certain angles to inspect from different angles and sides. All the time the image is displayed. The specialist observes it directly from the monitor and only after the end of the survey the resulting image is sent to the printer. If any violations are detected during the examination, the doctor makes appropriate notes. An experienced specialist immediately sees changes and negative factors. The printed photograph of the brain shows all the necessary information, including the dimensions of the lesions( if any).Further with the received picture it is possible to go to the neuropathologist.

Sometimes the scanning is combined with sampling. The sampling of such a sample is necessary to evaluate the cerebrovascular potential and to study the causes of many pathological conditions of the body. Only with the help of such an integrated approach can you, for example, determine the causes of facial edema, coordination disorders and acute headaches. It also helps to prescribe a more accurate and effective treatment.

1 Ultrasound and why it is performed on the brain

The human brain is the most complex organ of the central nervous system( CNS).He is the command center and is responsible for the work of all life-supporting processes of the body. Complex devices of neural connections process all incoming information and give answers to them in the form of impulses. The brain is divided into several parts, each of which has its own function. Violation of the work of one of the zones will lead to irreparable consequences. Circulation of blood in the brain should take place without difficulty.

To determine the disruption in the work of different sites, ultrasound of the brain is performed. Timely examination in time identifies problem areas and determines the causes of their occurrence. Any violation in the work of the central nervous system entails the possible death of a person, or the cessation of the functioning of some of its organs and systems.

head ultrasound by the method of conducting is not different from other types of examination. The brain research is painless, fast, safe, unblemished and very revealing. The procedure can be immediate, with the only restriction to increase the level of informativeness - this is a ban on smoking and drinking alcohol the day before the examination. For adults, the radiator is applied to the temporal lobes, neck and closed eyelids.

The principle of the ultrasound machine is based on the radiation of ultrasonic waves, catching their reflection from the surface of tissues and forming them in a visual picture on the monitor screen. All this happens instantly and in real time. This process is completely safe. Such a brain examination can be done by women at any time during pregnancy and later during feeding, without fear of harming the baby's health. Doctors can prescribe ultrasound of the brain in conjunction with other studies to compile a more complete picture of the activity of the organ.

2 Indications for the

survey There are a lot of ultrasound indications. Any of the symptoms requires a full study complex, as it can entail complications for the whole organism. List of indications for referral:

• of migraine of different severity;
• weakness, unhealthy reactions to habitual actions;
• unreasonable dizziness and extraneous sounds in the ears;
• loss of ability to see, hear or remember;
• high blood pressure;
• diabetes;
• predisposition to stroke;
• osteochondrosis of the neck;
• cramps of limbs, numbness, loss of control of control over them;
• presence of excess weight;
• increased cholesterol in the blood;
• partial loss of certain areas of visibility in the eyes;
• ischemic disease.

Any of the symptoms listed above needs to be checked for areas of the brain. In addition to the above indications, this examination is carried out before and after operations. After the operation, it is done to monitor the state of health and the response to surgery. Before the operation, ultrasound may be prescribed to confirm the diagnosis and monitor the dynamics of the disease.

4 Features of the examination in children

The examination of the brain for children differs from a similar study in adults only possible location of the scan. In children under 1 year old on the vertex of the fontanelle( not overgrown with bone area of ​​the skull) is not yet overgrown. The child is better to feed in advance and before the examination does not smear the top of his head with creams and foreign gels - they can interfere with the device.

Ultrasound brain examination in infants is a stable practice. Identify violations better in their early stages and for the time being the body and brain of the child is just developing, you can painlessly affect its growth and correct the situation in time. For the inspection of children, the power of the device is adjusted according to their age and physical parameters.

Do not worry about causing harm to the child - ultrasound is absolutely safe procedure.

In the early stages of development it is possible to identify the following:

• general condition of the brain and the similarity of development of its hemispheres;
• sharpness of formed gyri and their mirror image;
• presence of fluid between the lobes of the brain;
• benign and malignant formations( tumors, cysts);
• development of individual areas of the brain;
• presence of brain damage;
• density and size of the ventricles.

In addition to preventive mandatory examination of the brain in infants, there are a number of indications in which an ultrasound scan is prescribed:

• premature babies;
• to infants with abnormalities in body weight;
• to children with a modified skull, head shape and facial profile;
• babies injured at birth;
• for children with hypoxia, asphyxia;
• survived infections in the womb;
• for abnormalities in the development of other organs.

If any of the above symptoms are detected, doctors must prescribe treatment. During and after treatment, repeated procedures for examining the child's brain are often required. Doctors need to observe the course of treatment, to check whether the prescribed drugs have a positive effect. In children with complex disorders, examinations can be carried out every day for the entire period. Do not worry, because the procedure can not do much harm to the baby. Only in this way can you determine the level of blockage pathology.

5 Where can I get a scan and how much does it cost?

You can conduct brain scans free of charge in any hospital or polyclinic as directed by a doctor. Unfortunately, the reality is that the queue for free ultrasound can last for months. Often during a survey, you can not delay a day, because this may depend on the life of the patient. Therefore, for many, a long wait is not appropriate.

The second reason why you do ultrasound in the clinic is not worth it - it's the quality of the equipment. Whichever first-class specialist manages the scanner, if this device was purchased even under the Soviet regime, then it is not worth waiting for indicative results from it. Old ultrasonic devices have low power and weak accuracy. It is possible that the specialist simply does not see any parameters and in a timely manner does not determine the maturing or existing violations. A specialist with a calm soul will write in the results of the study that no pathologies have been detected, when in fact a disease can develop in the head.

The best option is to contact private ultrasound rooms and multi-disciplinary clinics. The procedure for examining the brain will cost about two thousand rubles. This is a rather expensive service, especially if you need to repeat the research or assigned several scans, for example, even the neck and blood vessels. For many it seems an unacceptable option, but here you need to remember that you can not save on health. Perhaps, it is from this that the further administration of treatment will depend. Without a good picture, a neurologist can not determine the extent of the violations, diagnose and prescribe the necessary treatment.