Color Doppler ultrasound imaging of the eye and orbit

Color Doppler imaging is a non-invasive ultrasound procedure which permits simultaneous gray scale imaging of structure and color-coded imaging of blood velocity. This improved technique allows the user to identify even very small blood vessels, such as those supplying the eye, from which measures of blood velocity and vascular resistance can be obtained. In the past five years, color Doppler imaging has found a number of applications in ophthalmology. A common examination procedure and expected normal values have been established, and the technique is becoming routinely employed to evaluate orbital vasculature in some medical centers. Color Doppler imaging has successfully demonstrated changes in orbital hemodynamics associated with a variety of pathological conditions, including central retinal artery and vein occlusions, cranial arteritis, nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy, and carotid disease. In addition, the method has been used to detect the vascularization of orbital and ocular tumors, as well as to investigate altered hemodynamics associated with diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.