Most people think of ultrasound (also called ultrasonography) as a way of looking at babies before they're born. It also is used to diagnose medical and neurological disorders. It is especially useful for identifying brain abnormalities in newborn babies. It uses only sound waves, so it is very safe. The sound waves get access to the brain through areas of the infant's skull where the bones have not yet come together. (These are called fontanelles.)

If a baby has seizures or other signs of a neurological disorder, the doctor may use ultrasound to look for excessive spinal fluid (hydrocephalus) or blood (hemorrhage) in the brain. The test can be performed easily in either the newborn intensive care unit or an outpatient clinic. Sometimes a CT scan or MRI will be performed later to get more information. These other techniques also can be used to search for abnormalities if the results from ultrasound (called a sonogram) are normal.

Topic Editor:Ruben Kuzniecky, M.D.
Last Reviewed:4/16/04