2. Stethoscope of neurologist
Introduced in year 1982 by rune aaslid
Initially introduced for detecton of vasospasm of
SAH.
cheaper,noninvasive,bed side
Mark Mohering 2002 M mode doppler
Purkayastha S, Sorond F. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound: technique and
application. Semin Neurol. 2012 Sep;32(4):411-20. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-
1331812
5. Bathala L, Mehndiratta MM, Sharma VK. Transcranial doppler: Technique and
common findings (Part 1). Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology. 2013
Apr;16(2):174.
6.
7. TERMS IN TCD
PULSALITY INDEX---The difference between PSV and EDV divided by
the mean flow velocity (MFV). PI values greater than 1.2 represent high
resistance blood flow.
PEAK SYSTOLIC VELOCITY --This is the initial peak on each cardiac
cycle’s TCD waveform
END DIASTOLIC VELOCITY---indicates a low resistance cerebral
artery flow pattern in all main intracranial arteries, ranging from 20 to
50% of the PSV
MEAN FLOW VELOCITY --calculated as EDV plus one-third of the
difference between PSV and EDV
RESISTANCE INDEX--The RI is determined by subtracting EDV from
PSV and dividing the value by PSV. If the RI value is less than 0.75, it
is considered normal.
Alexandrov AV, Demchuk AM, Wein TH, Grotta JC. Yield of transcranial Doppler in
acute cerebral ischemia. Stroke. 1999 Aug;30(8):1604-9.
9. PRINCIPALS OF TCD
The insonation is performed from the
proximal to the distal artery.
start closest to the heart and proceed
distally
located, find and record the best signal
inspect at least two locations for each
artery
Find location where the waveforms
exhibit the greatest abnormalities
10. USES OF TCD
Ischaemic cerebrovascular disease
Sickle cell disease
Right to left cardiac shunts
Intra and extra-cranial arterial steno-
occlusive disease
Arterio venous malformations and fistulas
11. Periprocedural/operative
1. Cerebral thrombolysis in acute stroke
2. Carotid end arterectomy
3. Carotid angioplasty and stenting
4. Post thrombolysis monitoring
12. Neurological/Neurosurgical intensive care
1. Vasospasm after SAH
2. Raised ICP
3. Head injury
4. Cerebral circulatory arrest and brain death
5. Intracerebral aneurysm and parenchymal
hematoma detection
Akif Topcuoglu M. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound in
neurovascular diseases: Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.
Journal of neurochemistry. 2012 Nov;123:39-51.
13. Intracranial arterial stenosis
DX on basis of MFV
50% stenosis ---MCA MFV of >100 and BA
MFV of >80 cm/sec
70% stenosis-- >120 and >110cm/sec
sensitivity and specificity of TCD for
diagnosing stenosis are both around 90%.
Sensitivity 74% and specificity 94% when
compared to CT Angio.
14. Intracranial arterial
occlusion
No blood flow detectable on direct in
sonating the occlusion.
The systolic acceleration -lower and
diastolic blood flow observed at more-
distal sites.
waveform is normal at sites that are
even more distal
the flow velocity is low, at ≤30 cm/sec
15.
16. TCD MONITORING SPONTANEOUS EMBOLI
Microembollic signals—distal to Large
artery occlusion---headframe of TCD.
Single MES after 40 min monitoring
significant,
Characteristic—random during c.s,brief,
High intensity ,unidirectional, audible
component.
Presence of MES on TCD distal to high
grade stenosis has higher risk of stroke.
17.
18. R------L SHUNT REVERSAL
TCD bubble test can detect CV ischemia
due to R--L (paradoxical emboli)
Technique– 9ml saline plus 1 ml air plus
few drops blood—10-15 shakes—
injected-----monitoring mca---valsalva for
4 to 6 sec--- RA pressure increased –
emboli to LA
TCD monitoring is performed for
another 16-20 s.
19.
20. VASOSPASM
occurs 3-12 days after SAH --- delayed
ischemic neurological deficits(25%)
Performed soon and repeatdely
diagnosed when the ratio of the fv between
the ICA and MCA (the Lindegaard ratio) is
≥3 and the MCA MFV is >200 cm/sec.
diagnosed when the ratio of the VA and BA
flow velocities (the modified Lindegaard
ratio) is ≥3 and the BA MFV is >85 cm/sec
21. MFV <120 cm/s(absent) and >200
cm/s(present) accurate MCA vasospasm
systematic review of 26 studies comparing TCD
with angiography
MFV >120 cm/s was 99% specific and 67%
sensitive to angiographic vasospasm of ≥25%.
MFV >200 cm/s was 98% specific and 27%
sensitive with a positive predictive value (PPV)
of 87% for angiographic vasospasm of ≥33%
(101 studies review)
B. Schatlo and R. M. Pluta, “Clinical applications of
transcranial Doppler sonography,” Reviews on Recent Clinical
Trials, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 49–57, 2007.
22. TCD IN ACUTE STROKE
Prognostication value in acute stroke.
Sensitivity 90% in MCA acute occlusion
detection
Occlusion –6 hrs – in M1 segment detected---
high chance of hemorrhagic transformation
Effectiveness ,duration, dose of re canalisation
23. TCD sensitivity for ICA and MCA (94 and
93%) terminal VA and BA(56 and 60%).
an abrupt increase in TIBI grade or stepwise
increase over 30 minutes indicates more
complete re canalisation
A. M. Demchuk, I. Christou, T. H. Wein et al., “Accuracy and criteria for
localizing arterial occlusion with transcranial Doppler,” Journal of
Neuroimaging, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2000
24. TCD IN SICKEL CELL DISEASE
Stroke mainly occurs in Intracranial ICA
proximal MCA.
Maximum MFV >200 –requirement for blood
transfusion –risk of first ever stroke.
Normal: TAMM velocity <170 cm/s — a repeat
assessment is indicated ---(conditional)170-
200 repeat TCD in 2 wks--- (Abnormal) 200.
25. TCD IN AVM
AVM –supplied by high flow shunts with absent
vasomotor reactivity easily detected by TCD
Sensitivity in detecting middle and large AVM>
small (2.5 cm)
2 parameters –velocity and PI
AVM (high velocity and low PI) as size increases
26. normalization of PI in first few days after
intervention while normalization of mean
velocity takes 1–3 weeks.
Sharma VK, Wong KS. Alexandrov AV. Transcranial Doppler.
Front Neurol Neurosci.. 2016;40:124-40.
27. TCD IN BRAIN STEM DEATH
Criteria for the diagnosis on TCD state
that
one of the following waveforms must be
observed in the BA, B/L ICA, and B/L
MCA on two examinations at least 30
minutes apart
an oscillating waveform
28. small systolic spikes of <200ms duration
and <50 cm/s PSV with no diastolic flow
Disappearance of intracranial flow with
typical signals observed in the extra
cranial circulation.
J. A. Llompart-Pou, J. M. Abadal, A. Güenther et al.,
“Transcranial sonography and cerebral circulatory arrest in
adults: a comprehensive review,” ISRN Critical Care, vol. 2013,
29. J. A. Llompart-Pou, J. M. Abadal, A. Güenther et al., “Transcranial
sonography and cerebral circulatory arrest in adults: a comprehensive
review,” ISRN Critical Care, vol. 2013, Article ID 167468, 6 pages, 2013.
30.
31.
32. REFERENCES
Pan Y, Wan W, Xiang M and Guan Y (2022) Transcranial Doppler
ultrasonography as a Diagnostic Tool for Cerebrovascular Disorders
Front. Hum. Neurosci. 16:841809
Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound: A Review of the Physical Principles
and Major Applications in Critical Care (Review Article)
Transcranial Doppler: examination techniques and interpretation
Youngrok Do1, Yong-Jae Kim2, and Jun Hong Lee3
Role of Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography in Evaluation of Patients
with Cerebrovascular Disease Vijay K. Sharma, MD, Georgios
Tsivgoulis, MD, Annabelle Y. Lao, MD, and Andrei V. Alexandrov, MD
33. Transcranial doppler: Technique and common findings (Part
1) Lokesh Bathala, Man Mohan Mehndiratta1, Vijay K.
Sharma2
Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound: Technique and
Application Sushmita Purkayastha, Farzaneh Sorond, MD
Role of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in stroke
Sanjukta Sarkar, Sujoy Ghosh, Sandip Kumar Ghosh,
Andrew Collier
Transcranial Doppler: Techniques and advanced
applications: Part 2 Arvind K. Sharma, Lokesh Bathala1,
Amit Batra2, Man Mohan Mehndiratta3, Vijay K. Sharma4
Editor's Notes
(A) indicates ultrasonic probes, with blue arrows indicating TCD and yellow arrows indicating Transcranial color-coded sonography (TCCS).
Panels (B–D) show transcranial acoustic windows used in TCD evaluation, including transorbital, suboccipital, and transtemporal windows
When a toward-flow signal is detected, the probe is moved
to locate the fastest flow and the clearest spectral waveform.
The depth is gradually decreased to trace the mid-M1
segment of the MCA at 50 mm, the distal M1 segment at
45 mm, and up to the MCA bifurcation, where the signal
disappears at a depth of 30-45 mm.
Only segment A1 is inspected since it is difficult to examine segment A2 using TCD.
From the ICA bifurcation, the probe is set to a depth of 63 mm
and slowly turned 10-30o posteriorly. After an interval with
no blood-flow signal, segments P2 and P1 are detected
as away- and toward-flow signals, respectively.
each vessel has a unique depth range,
flow direction, and appropriate age-associated flow velocity (FV)
Range increase in
age, CSF pressure, and central venous pressure lead to the
decrease in the FV. While increased blood viscosity results in
the elevation in FV. For the TCD scan, the ultrasound transducer is first placed on
the temporal bone, over the closed eyelid, and on the base of
the skull to capture the signals.
TRANS ORBITAL --the Doppler power is reduced to the minimum (17 mW) or 10% of the
maximum while examining the transorbital window
SUBOCCIPITAL --At a depth of 80-100 mm, the away-flow signal
is from the BA. Blood-flow signals should be found and recorded
for the proximal (80 mm), mid- (90 mm), and distal
(100 mm) BA
the probe is placed 2-3 cm left
and right of the midline and angled toward the nose. At a
depth of 45-80 mm, the away-flow signal is from the VA.
Normal transcranial Doppler spectral waveform of the middle
cerebral artery. The interval from phase 1 to phase 2 is referred to as systolic
acceleration, and reflects the resistance from the heart to the artery
of interest. The interval from phase 3 to phase 4 is the diastolic phase,
and reflects the resistance from the artery of interest to the periphery.
An increased MFV in the ACA suggests flow diversion, murmur,
and microembolic signals (MES) in distal vessels.
ACA flow
diversion can be detected by an increase in the ACA MFV
that is caused by stenosis or hypoplasia in segment A1 of
the ACA or a compensatory flow increase in the contralateral
MCA due to proximal carotid artery disease.
Secondary findings suggestive of arterial occlusion include
1) absence or delayed systolic acceleration of the distal artery
waveform, 2) development of a collateral circulation,
and 3) flow reversal
if the left proximal ICA is
occluded, the examiner may observe flow reversal in the left
OA and left ACA, as well as a lower systolic acceleration in
the left MCA.
Figure 4: (a) abnormal spectral waveforms. Panel A-Note delayed systolic acceleration (blunted flow). Doppler spectra obtained in a
patient with moderate (50%) stenosis of right MCA (b) shows elevated flow velocities–MFV >100. Panel (c) shows the flow spectra obtained in a patient with severe (>70%) stenosis of middle cerebral artery. The white arrow shows the flow turbulence (bruit). Spectra
with irregular rhythm and flow velocities (d) are diagnostic of atrial fibrillation. Panel e - shows the characteristic alternating flow signals, suggestive of cerebral circulatory arrest
International Consensus Criteria (ICC)
Grade 0: No MES.
Grade 1: MES count 1-10.
Grade 2: MES count 11-30, and
Grade 3: MES count more than 30 with “shower” or “curtain”
appearance.
the prevalence of acute stroke in sickle cell disease is 600 per 100,000 patient –years.
TCD screening of children between 2- and 6-years old is recommended on a 6–12
Monthly.
If a value >200 cm/s is associated with high risk of stroke in any artery is observed, then blood transfusion is recommended to reduce
sickle haemoglobin to less than 30% of total haemoglobin and prevent stroke.
(tbf< 170 cm/sec seems to be normal)
Stenoocclusive disease, high sensitivity and specificity are demonstrated only
in the proximal anterior circulation.
In embolization, different results may emerge depend
on whether the embolization is partial or staged. In first
and subsequent stages of staged embolization, there is
an increase in the mean velocity of the feeding artery.
Thus, it may be due to increase in collateral flow, absence
of diameter reduction, or due to recanalization of
previously canalized feeders
This oscillating MCA waveform demonstrates antegrade systolic
flow with retrograde diastolic flow, consistent with raised ICP
or brain stem death.
This MCA waveform demonstrates absent diastolic flow and small
systolic spikes consistent with the late stages of raised ICP or
brain stem death.