Combined continuous wave Doppler and radionuclide delay methods versus angiography in detection of vertebral basilar arterial obstruction.

Noninvasive diagnosis of vertebral artery disease is difficult, but the combined use of Doppler ultrasonography and dynamic radionuclide studies, with measurement of the carotid-basilar delay (CBD), increases the sensitivity and can indicate the level (cervical or distal) of the lesion. Forty patients with cerebrovascular disease were studied by continuous wave Doppler and CBD and the results were compared with vertebral angiograms. The mean normal CBD value was determined for a control group of 18 patients.