Advances in transcranial Doppler clinical applications

Area of Science:

• Neurosonology
• Cerebrovascular imaging
• Neurosonology applications

Background:

• Diagnostic neurosonology (TCD, TCDI, PMD) provides critical data on cerebrovascular status, including microemboli detection and autoregulation.
• These essential neuroimaging techniques are underutilized in clinical practice.
• Familiarity with neurosonology is vital for managing neurovascular diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review classical and recent developments in neurosonology techniques.
• To highlight clinical applications of neurosonology in neurovascular disorders.
• To discuss practical perspectives and future directions in the field.

Main Methods:

• Review of transcranial Doppler (TCD), transcranial color Doppler imaging (TCDI), and power motion-mode (PMD) TCD.
• Summary of classical features and recent advancements.
• Methodological discussion of standards for microembolism detection, shunt diagnosis, and autoregulation assessment.

Main Results:

• Detailed review of ultrasound evaluation for intracranial arterial status in sickle cell vasculopathy and vasospasm.
• Insights into neurosonological monitoring for acute ischemic stroke and intracranial pressure.
• Discussion of standards for embolism detection, shunt diagnosis, and autoregulation.

Conclusions:

• Neurosonology enables bedside imaging for real-time intervention monitoring.
• Non-invasive, neurosonology-guided treatments for various diseases are a future possibility.
• Adoption and utilization of neurosonology are key to advancing the field.