• Kristin Evensen, Arve Dahl, Ole M Ronning, and David Russell.
• Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway.
• J Neuroimaging. 2015 Mar 1;25(2):232-7.

Background And PurposeMultipurpose ultrasound probes combined with ultra-mobile ultrasound instrumentation have the potential to increase the availability and use of ultrasound examinations in the assessment of atherosclerotic burden and cardiac disease. The aim of this study was to compare the agreement of a newly developed multipurpose probe to a standard linear carotid probe in detection of atherosclerosis of the precerebral arteries.MethodsWe examined 103 patients with a multipurpose probe (General Electric, G9L MPP-9 MHz) and a standard linear probe (General Electric, Vivid 7-M12L-14 MHz). Measurements included intima-media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid arteries (CCA), carotid bifurcations (BIF), internal carotid arteries (ICA), and detection of carotid plaques and stenoses.ResultsWe found a significant level of agreement between the two probes for all IMT measurements with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of: left CCA .91, left BIF .68, left ICA .75, right CCA .84, right BIF .74, and right ICA .59. Agreement with regard to carotid plaque and stenosis detection had kappa values of .94 and .93.ConclusionThe multipurpose probe showed agreement with a standard linear probe in detecting atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries and has therefore the potential for use in both cardiac and precerebral ultrasound examinations.Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

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