What’s this procedure?

Cranial ultrasound

This is a head ultrasound which produces images of the brain and the cerebrospinal fluid that is contained within its ventricles located in the deep portion of the brain. Since ultrasound waves don’t pass through bone easily, this exam is most commonly performed on infants whose skulls haven’t completely formed. The gaps between those skull bones provide a “window” allowing the ultrasound beam to freely pass into and back from the brain. During the procedure, the ultrasound probe and some gel are placed on the outside of the head in one of those regions without bone.