Transcranial Doppler: A Beginning of a New Era for Stroke Diagnosis

Abstract

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is an intracranial neurovascular exam that provides a real-time, rapid, non-invasive ultrasound technique to analyze cerebrovascular function. It uses high-frequency sound waves to assess the blood flow velocity, detect the deficit that causes focal vascular stenosis, and diagnose the embolic signals inside these arteries. Moreover, it can be used to analyze particular vascular territory of physiologic health by measuring cerebral vasoreactivity, cerebral autoregulation, and functional hyperemia. The information obtained from these examinations is increasingly becoming pertinent for therapeutic decision-making. In this study, we are going to focus on a comparative analysis of TCD findings using clinical and other modalities and assess the specificity, sensitivity, and positive and negative predictive value of TCD findings in Asymptomatic and Symptomatic high-risk elderly patients. Furthermore, we will study the clinical usefulness of TCD in evaluating patients with cerebrovascular accidents (CVA).