title: The study of deep brain structures by transcranial duplex sonography and imaging resonance correlation.
abstract: Transcranial duplex sonography (TCS) currently provides us with images of deep brain structures with sufficient resolution. We chose 2 sonographic quantitative parameters: the diameter of the third ventricle and a measurement not used by TCS to date, the midbrain area. Their reliability and reproducibility were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the reference. A total of 99 patients free from neurodegenerative disorders were examined using TCS, and both parameters were measured by 2 independent explorers. Measurements of third-ventricle diameter by TCS showed very good correlation (r = 0.80) and agreement (ICC = 0.89) with measurements obtained by MRI. Measurements of the midbrain area by TCS also provided acceptable values with moderate correlation (r = 0.36) and agreement (ICC = 0.53). Interexplorer correlation values were good (ICC = 0.98 and 0.79 for the third ventricle and midbrain areas, respectively). Further studies will be required to determine the potential diagnostic usefulness of these parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain. patsaher@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sahuquillo
authors.forename: Jose Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Tembl
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parkhutik
authors.forename: Juan Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Vázquez
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sastre
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lago
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D020542:Third Ventricle / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial / Q000379:methods*