Color-coded duplex sonography in the evaluation of vertebral arteries

The vertebral arteries of 100 healthy subjects were studied with color-coded duplex sonography. All subjects experienced no clinical symptoms attributable to the vertebrobasilar system. Diastolic and systolic flow velocities could be measured in color-coded duplex sonography in 94% of the right and 92% of the left vertebral arteries. The anechogenic band between the transverse processes of the cervical spine which helps to identify the vertebral artery could not be discerned reliably in 18% of the subjects. In these cases the colored blood flow signals were used as a guide line to place the doppler sample volume exactly within the arterial lumen. Thus color coded duplex sonography is a useful tool for a rapid and definitely identification of vertebral artery and for pulsed Doppler flow measurements with velocity spectrum. For measurements in diameter of hypoplastic and normal vertebral arteries gray scale methodic is a more accurate assessment, as some artifacts of color-coded duplex sonography exist.