Objective: To establish the normal values of the transcranial doppler sonography in healthy Korean adults according to the increasing age and sex.

Method: We examined 68 healthy adult volunteers who had no history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease or other neurological illness. The study included 54 subjects from whom good doppler signals from the middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral arteries could be obtained. Mean blood flow velocity (MBFV), Resistance index (RI), and Pulsatility index (PI) were analyzed by Angiodine 2 Doppler System operating at 2 MHz frequency.

Results: MBFV significantly decreased with the increasing age in the middle, anterior and posterior cerebral arteries (p＜0.05). There was a significantly decreased MBFV of the middle cerebral artery in the 4 th, 5 th, 6 th, and 7 th decades compared to the 3 rd decade (p＜0.05). RI and PI were significantly increased with the increasing age (p＜0.05). MBFV of the female subjects were greater than the male subjects (p＞0.05). There was no significant difference in the RI and PI between the male and female subjects.

Conclusion: We suggest that the transcranial doppler sonography can be used as one of the useful screening tools for the diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases.

Keywords :Transcranial doppler sonography, Mean blood flow velocity, Resistance index, Pulsatility index