Ultrasound perfusion imaging of cysts in the midbrain.

AIM: Cerebral ultrasound perfusion examinations have been focused on the diencephalic plane. We describe perfusion abnormalities in the mesencephalon.

METHOD: Phase-Inversion-Harmonic-Imaging (PIHI, Siemens Sonoline Elegra) was performed in a patient with ponto-mesencephalic cysts, that was defined by MRI. The signal increase (bolus kinetics, SonoVue) was quantified for peak-signal-increase (PSI) and time-to-peak (TTP).

RESULTS: PSI and TTP could be quantified for the ipsi- and contralateral posterior cerebral arteries, the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery, the mesencephalon and the ipsilateral temporal lobe. The contrast agent influx was diminished or extinct in the area of the cysts. PSI and TTP delineated the area of the cystic structure well.

CONCLUSION: PIHI in the mesencephalic plane is feasible and allows identification of pathological structures within the mesencephalon.