Ultrasound Neonatal Brain / Head

Neonatal head ultrasound is usually the first method selected to image a baby’s brain. It is an inexpensive, comparatively quick and easy procedure to perform, in which the most critical brain components can be seen ( but not 100% of the brain as in CT or MRI), and it does no harm, and does not require any sedation.

Premature babies are prone to bleeds in the brain, so have routine head ultrasounds at prescribed ages to monitor brain development and wellbeing.

Indications

• Large or small head circumference.
• Strange head shape
• Assess for congenital anomaly
• Assess Intracranial bleed
• Detect tumour
• Infection (eg cytomegalovirus/CMV/meningitis).
• Part of genetic workup.

There is no Preparation for this examination; however the baby’s hat will need to be removed.

NB: Please bring a dummy to help settle baby if required. (If baby has one).

The baby will generally be laid supine (on their back) on the examination table, gel rubbed over the fontanelle (soft spot) on the top of the head, and ultrasound scanning done through the soft spot. (Solid bones block our view).

NB: Babies hair needs to be slicked down and away from the soft spot as much as possible. Too much hair will interfere with image quality. The ultrasound transducer will be rocked back and forth in different positions to achieve all required views. Measurements may/may not be done, dependent upon findings, and clinical question which needs answering.

Babies skull bones are usually not yet fused together, so there are a variety of small gaps that can be peeked through to image different parts of the brain. (eg posterior fontanelle, behind the ears etc).

Younger babies are easier to scan because they are sleepier and less active than older more alert babies. As a general rule the best baby to scan is a sleeping one. Older babies can sometimes be quite unco-operative and may need to be held still. Dependent upon Sonographer experience and the mood of the baby, the Sonographer may ask you to hold your baby in a specific way to help hold baby still enable quality scanning.

The specialised doctor will carefully analyse your images and make a report to your referring doctor. If the referring doctor is in the hospital they will be able to access the results on the computer. Ifyour doctor is not in the hospital hen the clerks will be able to burn the results on a disc.