Sonographic duplication artifact of the spinal cord in infants and children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric radiology
• Medical imaging
• Neurosonography

Background:

• Spinal cord abnormalities in infants and children require accurate imaging.
• Postrepair myelomeningocele patients may present unique sonographic challenges.
• Distinguishing artifacts from true pathology is crucial for diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize sonographic duplication artifacts in pediatric spinal imaging.
• To differentiate these artifacts from congenital spinal cord anomalies.
• To improve diagnostic accuracy in neurosonography of the pediatric spine.

Main Methods:

• Spinal sonography was performed on neonates and older children.
• Imaging included evaluation of suspected spinal cord abnormalities and follow-up of open-spine defects.
• Artifacts were observed across different scanner brands and transducer types.

Main Results:

• A single spinal cord was confirmed in all patients.
• Sonographic duplication artifacts were consistently observed.
• These artifacts appeared with both linear array and vector array transducers from multiple manufacturers.

Conclusions:

• Sonographic duplication artifacts in pediatric spinal imaging are identifiable.
• These artifacts should not be misdiagnosed as diastematomyelia or diplomyelia.
• Recognition of these artifacts enhances diagnostic confidence in neurosonography.