Neuro-POCUS and transcranial ultrasound (history, basics and prospects)

Neuro-POCUS (Point-of-Care Ultrasound in neurology) is the international abbreviation for a new strategic direction in neuromedicine. It provides the clinician with a unique opportunity to perform neuroimaging themselves during patient examination or surgical manipulation to solve specific practical problems. In the domestic literature, the term «clinical-sonographic examination» was proposed for this approach. This direction is of particular importance in screening diagnosis, monitoring and surgical navigation in the most frequent and dangerous structural intracranial changes (hematomas, tumors, cysts, hydrocephalus, etc.). For the development of Neuro-POCUS technologies, an international scientific group was established in 2022, according to the report of which the assessment of brain parenchyma is discussed in the framework of monitoring midline shift and third ventricle width and mainly using transcranial color-coded duplex sonography. A review of the literature and our own 30 years of research suggest that B-mode transcranial ultrasonography is the optimal option for brain imaging within Neuro-POCUS. The history, foundations and prospects of Neuro-POCUS are discussed.

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