Transcranial sonography of the substantia nigra by tissue harmonic imaging

Introduction: Transcranial ultrasound (TCS) of midbrain structures has recently gained in importance in diagnosing parkinsonian disorders. In previous studies, alterations in the echo pattern of the substantia nigra (SN) were defined by conventional B-mode imaging (CBI). However, tissue harmonic imaging (THI) may promise an even better visualization of midbrain parenchyma. This study gives a direct comparison between CBI and THI by depicting the SN-echogenicity. Methods: 248 subjects aged from 18–83yrs were investigated with a 2.5MHz phased-array probe (Sonoline Elegra, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) through the te…