TRANSORBITAL COLOR DOPPLER FLOW IMAGING OF THE CAROTID SIPHON AND MAJOR ARTERIES AT THE BASE OF THE BRAIN

PURPOSE: To describe and evaluate an application of sonography, transo rbital color Doppler flow imaging of the carotid siphon and major intr acranial arteries, and to compare it with transtemporal color Doppler flow imaging, METHODS: The carotid siphon and major arteries at the ba se of the brain of 50 healthy volunteers were screened using the trans orbital color Doppler flow sonography. These arteries were also studie d by a transtemporal approach for comparison. In 5 volunteers, MR imag es in special inclination planes were obtained and compared with the t ransorbital color-coded Doppler now images, RESULTS: The B-mode image of the orbit and intracranial anatomic structures, in addition to the color-coded flow images, provided an unambiguous identification of the carotid siphon and major intracranial arteries. The failure rate was lower when using the transorbital approach than when using the transte mporal approach in identifying the anterior cerebral artery (17% versu s 32%). Color Doppler flow imaging using the transtemporal approach wa s better for the middle cerebral artery, whereas color Doppler flow im aging using the transorbital approach was better for the anterior cere bral artery (contralateral). The Doppler incident angles using the tra nsorbital approach were better for the carotid siphon and anterior cer ebral artery (contralateral). CONCLUSION: Transorbital color Doppler f low imaging, when used in conjunction with the transtemporal examinati on, can add information concerning the major arteries at the base of t he brain.