Ultrasonographic diagnosis of brain tumors in infancy

Fourteen intracranial tumors were diagnosed by means of mechanical sector scanning through the infant's open fontanelle in a series consisting of 1150 examinations. In addition, integrated pulsed Doppler-sonography (duplex-scan technique) was used to diagnose malformations of intracranial vessels. We established five diagnostic criteria: high echogenic structures are mostly seen in solid tumors of the periventricular region; low echogenic structures are seen in infiltrating tumors of the cerebral tissue and they are difficult to recognize; echo-free structures correspond with a cystic process, a necrosis or malformation of vessels; indirect sonographic signs of a cerebral tumor are all changes in shape and size of the normal anatomic structures; and abnormal blood-perfusion of a marked region, e.g. caused by dilatations of vessels, can be proved by integrated pulsed Doppler-sonography.