title: Transducer frequency considerations in intraoperative US of the spine.
abstract: To determine the effect of transducer frequency, we used intraoperative spinal ultrasound to study 15 patients. All patients but one had spinal stenosis and/or disk disease affecting the cervical cord (n = 5), the thoracic cord (n = 1), or the lumbosacral area (n = 8). One patient had an arteriovenous malformation of the cervical cord. Both 5-MHz and 10-MHz transducers were used in one patient; a transducer with the option of 3.5, 5, or 7.5 MHz was used in ten; and a 10-MHz transducer was used in four. We found that, intraoperatively, 10-MHz transducers currently produce the most detailed images of the spine.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology*; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*