Intraoperative Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in the Pediatric Neurosurgical Patient

B-mode represents the main imaging modality used during neurosurgical procedures. This chapter reviews our previous experiences in adult neurosurgery, in particular regarding intraoperative neoplastic evaluation, characterization and vessel visualization, applied during different paediatric neurosurgical procedures. We illustrate how CEUS can be employed in different intra-operative settings in paediatric neurosurgical patients and describe various conditions in which CEUS proved to be feasible and useful for cerebral and spinal cord malformation, neoplastic and vascular diseases. As contrast media is beneficial for the diagnosis and understanding with traditional neuroradiological imaging, ultrasound contrast agents should be included for completeness in most ultrasound studies, particularly in the paediatric population.