CONTINUOUS AND SIMULTANEOUS ULTRASOUND DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY OF THE INTERNAL CAROTID AND VERTEBRAL ARTERIES - PRELIMINARY-OBSERVATIONS OF CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW CHANGES WITH COMMON CAROTID COMPRESSION

We have developed a new technique for simultaneous assessment of the four cervical cerebral arteries. Using a cervical brace with four freely adjustable Doppler probes attached, we studied four healthy young males and observed their cerebral blood flow changes during common carotid compression. The results indicated various reactivity in these subjects. We observed that carotid compression sometimes affects or stops the ipsilateral vertebral flow according to the intensity and location of compression. Also, the flow of the contralateral internal carotid artery (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA) showed remarkable increases greater than those due to ICA obliteration alone. This indicates the possibility that using only one probe during compression may often result in unknown obliteration of the ipsilateral VAs flow and could also produce other incomplete data. Moreover, with our technique, we would be able to assess the cerebral reserve more precisely and clearly in patients with carotid or vertebral occlusive diseases.