[New trends in ultrasound diagnostics of carotid stenoses]

The B-mode image quality of vessels has markedly increased with the advent of new transducer technologies. Morphological changes of the vessel wall, ulcerations, dissections or wall lesions benefit from non-Doppler dependent flow imaging methods. Two-dimensional imaging of the elasticity of the vessel wall may in future benefit from high speed imaging techniques. The biggest improvement in vessel imaging is probably the prudent use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound by which neovascularization can be visualized. Plaque vascularization is looked upon as an important risk factor in the evaluation of possible vulnerable plaques.