ECHO head: where to do what shows? How do ECHO heads?

To many of his patients, a neurologist appoints an ECHO head. It is deciphered as an echoencephalography and is a non-invasive procedure, during which the brain is examined and the sensitivity of its various sites to ultrasound is determined. Many patients ask the question: "If the doctor recommends an ECHO of the head, what does this examination show?". In this way, brain pathologies are identified that can threaten life: hemorrhages, tumors, abscesses, trauma. Let us consider this procedure in more detail.

What is Echoencephalography?

ECHO of the head is a safe and quite informative method of brain research using ultrasound in both adults and children. Such waves, having a frequency of 0.5-15 MG / s, easily pass through various tissues of the body and are reflected from any surfaces near the boundaries of tissues with different composition (brain substance, skull bones, blood, liquor, soft head tissue).

As a result of such research, reflective surfaces are quite capable of appearing and pathological (various hematomas and abscesses, foreign bodies, crushing sites, cysts). With the help of echoencephalography, the arteries and veins of the patient are also examined and the patency of cerebral vessels is checked . This procedure easily reveals a violation of blood flow, which can lead in the future to serious diseases.

In what cases do adults receive echoencephalography?

This procedure for adults is assigned to detect formations in the following pathologies:

• Tumors;
• Abscesses;
• head injury;
• Intracranial hematoma;
• hydrocephalus;
• headache;
• Dizziness;
• Intracranial hypertension;
• Other diseases that are cerebral.

In addition, an echo examination of the head is prescribed for the diagnosis of some other diseases. It:

• Neck trauma;
• VSD;
• Violation of blood flow;
• Vertebrobasilar insufficiency;
• Cerebral ischemia ;
• Bruises and concussion ;
• noise in ears;
• Encephalopathy;
• stroke.

In what cases is echoencephalography prescribed for children?

In children who have not turned 1.5 years old, the fontanel is not overgrown, so with this procedure you can completely examine all areas of the brain.

ECHO of a head to the child appoint or nominate in the following cases:

• With the purpose to assess the degree of hydrocephalus;
• If the sleep is severely disturbed;
• To evaluate the effectiveness of therapy for neurological diseases;
• If they pester nervous tics;
• With a delay in physical development;
• If hypertension of muscles is revealed;
• With stuttering and enuresis;
• In case of a head injury.

Preparation for echoencephalography

To do ECHO of the head in adults and children, no preparation is required. You can take any food and liquid. You can do this at any age, as well as during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Only if there is an open wound on the head in the places where the sensor will be applied, it is best to use another type of research - computer or MR tomography.

If an echoencephalography of the brain is carried out by a small child, his parents should come to the rescue, who should keep his head in one position for some time.

Although this method is absolutely painless, but during the procedure, it is necessary to change the scan plane many times, and the head should not move at all. Sedation and anesthesia during the procedure are not required.

How is the research conducted?

How do ECHO heads? For this, the patient should be in a supine position, but in some cases the procedure is carried out and sitting. Begin examination with the right lateral, and then the left side of the head, from the forehead to the occipital region. This method of research is often used as an emergency diagnosis, so the size of the devices is small, they are easy to transfer.

One-dimensional echoencephalography can be performed in the doctor's office, in the ambulance, on the street and at home, if the device is equipped with a battery. The study lasts 10-15 minutes and it is carried out in two modes.

The first mode is transmission. With this method, two ultrasound sensors are used that are mounted on the same axis simultaneously from both sides of the head. One probe in this case sends a signal, and the other receives it. Thus, the "average head line" is calculated. Usually, it coincides with the anatomical midline, but this dependence disappears with bruises of soft tissues, as well as in the case of blood accumulation in the cranial cavity or under the periosteum.

The second mode is emission. In this case, only one sensor is used, installed at such points where ultrasound is easier to penetrate through the bones of the skull. This device is slightly shifted so that the image is more informative.

Two-dimensional echoencephalography is obtained as a result of a gradual movement of the sensor over the surface of the head. At the same time, an image of a horizontal section of the brain, obtained by moving such a device, appears on the monitor. In the case of small foci of pathology, such a study is not accurate enough. In this case, it is best to carry out magnetic resonance imaging.

Explanation of results

The results of ECHO of the head in both children and adults are treated equally. To decipher the record of a specialist sonologist, one should know some theoretical questions.

So, in norm, echoencephalography consists of three signals, or "bursts", called complexes.

The initial complex is the signal closest to the sensor. Its formation is carried out by ultrasound, which is reflected from the bones of the skull, skin with subcutaneous tissue and surface structures of the brain.

The median complex (M-echo) is a signal obtained as a result of a "collision" of ultrasound with such structures of the brain located in the middle between the hemispheres.

The final complex is a signal coming from the soft tissues of the head, bones of the skull, a solid shell of the brain from the opposite side of the sensor.

Echoencephalography is a combination of these three main signals, which on a monitor or paper looks like a graph with the abscissa and ordinate axis.

Decoding of the head ECHO begins with an assessment of the following indicators:

• M-echo. Such a signal usually occupies a middle position between the two complexes. It is permissible if it moves by 1-2 mm. Many scientific studies prove that if there are neurological symptoms, then the displacement of more than 0.6 mm should alert, and a person needs to undergo an additional examination.
• The signal from the third ventricle should not be split or dilated, since in this case it indicates increased intracranial pressure.
• The pulsation of the M-echo should be within 10-30%. If it is increased to 50-70%, then this indicates a hypertensive-hydrocephalic syndrome.
• Between the M-echo and the initial complex, on the one hand, and the M-echo and the final signal, on the other, there must be an equal number of smaller signals.
• The mean syllabic index (SI) in adults should be 3.9-4.1 and more. If it falls below the figure of 3.8, then this indicates the existence of increased intracranial pressure.

Other indicators

In addition, echoencephalography consists of the following indicators:

• The index of the third ventricle is 22-24. Less than 22 is a sign of hydrocephalus.
• The index of the medial wall is 4-5. If the indicator is greater than 5, this indicates an increased pressure in the supprentorial space.
• If the M-echo is displaced by 5 mm or more at the stroke clinic in the early days, this indicates that it is hemorrhagic in nature. If the dislocation is absent or does not exceed 2.5 mm, then the stroke is ischemic.
• With a large M-echo displacement after a prolonged course of the disease, if there are no signs of inflammation, a tumor is often detected. Increased temperature, intoxication of the body, a sharp development of the disease and a large displacement of the M-echo indicate an abscess of the brain.

Since such a study has inaccuracies, the interpretation of the results should be carried out by a neurologist. Treatment is prescribed only if the doctor compares the echo-picture with the symptoms of a person.

Features of echoencephalography

Any medical research by various devices and its interpretation of the results depends on the human factor. Every highly professional specialist has a certain experience, due to which he can judge in his own way about the received data and there are such moments that the opinion of the ultrasound doctor does not coincide with the opinion of the neurologist. Therefore, after an echoencephalography, a person should be examined by a highly professional specialist and, based on such an examination, as well as by the results of a brain ultrasound, treatment is prescribed.

ECHO head: where to do?

There are so many options where you can undergo a brain examination. Ideally, first of all, you need to coordinate the place of the procedure and the doctors - your treating neurologist and specialist, who will perform the diagnosis. In some cases, echoencephalography is carried out directly by the treating neurologist, so you do not have to go anywhere, since everything is done in one place.

Conclusion

So, we found out what the head ECHO is. Echoencephalography is performed to identify various pathological conditions of the brain. This procedure can be used by both adults and children, and is quite safe and informative. Due to such an investigation, an accurate diagnosis is made and localization of many pathological formations is determined. The procedure itself is relatively inexpensive, in addition, it takes a little time.