Ultraschall des Mittelhirns

Transcranial B-mode sonography (TCS) of the midbrain - especially of substantia nigra (SN) and raphe - is increasingly used as a tool for the diagnostics of Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders. Provided adequate instruction and training midbrain TCS can be carried out equally well by the physicians and the technical assistants. The correct technical conductance (system settings, avoidance of potential sources of error) is important to observe. In future, digitized image analysis tools will increase the precision of assessment of SN echogenicity. An interesting novel application of TCS is the position control of deep brain stimulation electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus. The present article provides a detailed overview on the method and the current diagnostic applications of midbrain sonography.