[Approach by neuroimaging with power flow Doppler imaging].

Doppler sonography is convenient and useful for evaluating intracranial lesions and hemodynamics, especially in the neonate. Recently we used power flow Doppler imaging (PF) to show vessels with a low flow velocity and a small caliber. The pulsed Doppler system (PD) in combination with PF can selectively visualize small vessels and slow blood flow, such as the steady flow conditions of the lenticulostriate artery (LSA). As PF can reveal the vessel crossing at a right angle to the ultrasonic beam, the bilateral middle cerebral arteries can be observed through the anterior fontanel under the same conditions. We can also evaluate the laterality of intracranial hemodynamics using PF. Four-dimensional PF images, which are reconstructed from the several three-dimensional reconstruction images during one cardiac beat, can show the pulsation of intracranial arteries. This technique may provide a new quantitative and qualitative method for intracranial circulation.