Cranial ultrasound

Additionally, cranial ultrasound can be used for intra-operative imaging in adults undergoing neurosurgery once the skull has been opened, for example to help identify the margins of a tumour.

If severe intraventricular haemorrhage is noted then the baby will need to be scanned more frequently in case post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (swelling of the ventricles as the natural flow of the cerebrospinal fluid is blocked by blood-clots) develops.

[4] Other indications include babies that requires ventilatory support, neonatal encephalopathy, and signs and symptoms that suggests central nervous system disorder such as seizures, microcephaly, macrocephaly, hypotonia, and unexplained poor feeding at term.

[5] Most neonatal units in the developed world routinely perform serial cranial ultrasound scans on babies who are born significantly premature.

Therefore, many neonatal services prefer to perform an MRI scan when the infant is near term, as well as routine cranial ultrasound, to avoid missing more subtle abnormalities.