Zoran Becvarovski, MD
Elias Michaelides, MD
Karissa L. Jagacki, AuD

The Michigan Ear Institute is proud to introduce this latest in medical technology: the Transcranial Doppler (TCD).

TCD is a new diagnostic tool used for the assessment of dizziness. It is a non-invasive method used to assess blood flow in the blood vessels of the brain.

The Michigan Ear Institute is one of the first clinics in the world to use this technology for diagnosing Atypical Dizziness.

Dizziness has many types of causes. Often, it can be caused by problems in the inner ear. However, dizziness can be caused by changes in blood flow to the parts of the brain which coordinate balance. Therefore, being able to examine the amount of blood flow in different parts of the brain would be helpful in diagnosing dizziness.

Rune Aaslid first introduced the TCD at the University of Bern in Switzerland in 1982. Before this time, measuring blood vessels to the brain required injection of dye and complicated x-ray machinery (angiography). These invasive procedures are associated with occasional significant side effects, including stroke and blindness. Transcranial Doppler is a non-invasive procedure. There are no known negative effects or complications.

Transcranial doppler uses soundwaves to measure the speed of blood in the vessels around the brain. The soundwaves are usually so high pitched, that you cannot even hear them. These soundwaves bounce off of the moving blood and back into a special microphone which calculates the speed of the blood, much like a policeman's radar gun can calculate the speed of a passing car. In this way, blood flow to the balance centers of the brain can be discovered, without x-rays or injections.

TCD is safe, quick, and painless. It takes no special preparation, except that women with long hair may want to keep their hair up. Also, the blood flow in the neck vessels may also be examined, so turtleneck sweaters, or other high neck collars should be avoided. A probe, much like the ultrasound probes used to look at babies still in their mother's womb, is placed in a variety of places around the head, and the blood flow is measured.

A small amount of gel is place on the probe to make the sound signals pass more easily through the skin. The operator will then systematically locate the major blood vessels of your brain and record these signals.

The computer in the TCD will then convert this information into sound and electronic display. This will include the amount and speed of blood flow in the major blood vessels of your brain.

The doctor can then later look at these recordings to see if there may be changes in blood flow which could be causing dizziness.

The entire procedure takes less than 1 hour and the results will be reported by the physician.

Contact Michigan Ear Institute for an appointment.