Echography in brain imaging in intensive care unit: State of the art

Transcranial sonography(TCS)is an ultrasound-based imaging technique,which allows the identification of several structures within the brain parenchyma.In the past it has been applied for bedside assessment of different intracranial pathologies in children.Pres-ently,TCS is also used on adult patients to diagnose intracranial space occupying lesions of various origins,intracranial hemorrhage,hydrocephalus,midline shift and neurodegenerative movement disorders,in both acute and chronic clinical settings.In comparison with conventional neuroimaging methods(such as com-puted tomography or magnetic resonance),TCS has the advantages of low costs,short investigation times,repeatability,and bedside availability.These noninva-sive characteristics,together with the possibility of of-fering a continuous patient neuro-monitoring system,determine its applicability in the monitoring of multiple emergency and non-emergency settings.Currently,TCS is a still underestimated imaging modality that requires a wider diffusion and a qualified training process.In this review we focused on the main indications of TCSfor the assessment of acute neurologic disorders in in-tensive care unit.