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Transcranial Doppler: examination techniques and interpretation

  • Do, Youngrok (Department of Neurology, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine) ;
  • Kim, Yong-Jae (Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Lee, Jun Hong (Department of Neurology, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital)
  • Received : 2019.05.22
  • Accepted : 2019.07.10
  • Published : 2019.07.31

Abstract

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) was introduced in 1982 to assess intracranial arteries noninvasively, since when it has been widely used to assess and monitor cerebrovascular hemodynamics. The clinical applications of TCD are broadening to include other fields that require monitoring of the cerebral blood flow. TCD has fewer temporal and spatial restrictions than other methods, can be performed on less-compliant patients, and causes no harm to the body. However, its reliance on high levels of examiner skill and experience, as well as a lack of standardized scanning protocols are obstacles that still need to be overcome. In this report we review TCD examination techniques and interpret their findings for several conditions.

Keywords

References

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