1,000 Transcranial Doppler Procedures Strengthen Stroke Diagnosis at Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road
Bengaluru : Apollo Hospitals Bannerghatta, a leading multi speciality hospital in the region, announced the completion of 1,000 Transcranial Doppler (TCD) procedures, marking a significant milestone in strengthening real-time stroke diagnosis and neurocritical care monitoring. The achievement highlights the hospital’s growing role in using advanced, non-invasive neurovascular technologies to enable faster treatment decisions for patients with complex brain and stroke-related conditions.
Dr. Vijay Sharma, Senior Consultant, Division of Neurology, National University Hospital, Singapore, joined virtually during the event and spoke about the evolving role of TCD in neurocritical care and its relevance in improving outcomes in time-sensitive neurological conditions.
Over the course of these 1,000 procedures, TCD has supported routine and advanced stroke evaluation at the hospital, including monitoring over 350 patients with acute stroke. The technology enabled rapid identification of intracranial arterial stenosis, occlusions and flow asymmetries, helping clinicians make time-sensitive treatment decisions and guide secondary stroke prevention. It also helped identify collateral circulation in Moyamoya disease and supported dynamic diagnosis of vascular conditions such as subclavian steal phenomenon
Speaking on the significance of the milestone, Dr (Prof) Suryanarayana Sharma P M, Consultant Neurologist at Apollo Hospitals Bannerghatta said “TCD is often described as the neurologist’s stethoscope to the brain because it allows us to assess cerebral blood flow dynamically at the bedside. Unlike conventional imaging, it provides real-time insights into how blood is actually flowing through the brain’s arteries, which can be crucial in stroke evaluation and neurocritical care monitoring. Reaching the milestone of 1,000 procedures reflects how this technology has become an essential part of our comprehensive stroke care and helps us make faster and more informed treatment decisions for patients.”
Dr. Suryanarayana Sharma has also contributed to advancing the use of TCD in stroke prevention in India, having conducted and published the first pilot project focused on tribal children with sickle cell disease. The initiative has since been expanded across multiple states with the support of government agencies and several NGOs. He further noted that vasomotor reactivity assessment is emerging as an important area of interest in stroke prevention, particularly among individuals with established vascular risk factors.
Dr. Gurucharan Adoor, Consultant Neurologist at Apollo Hospitals Bannerghatta, added “Beyond stroke diagnosis, TCD has proven valuable across several complex neurological conditions. It has helped us monitor intracranial vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and tubercular meningitis. It has also helped us detect conditions that may be missed on conventional tests. Using bubble TCD, we identified 32 patients with patent foramen ovale, several previously missed on echocardiography.”
In addition to diagnostic applications, TCD supported 30 brain death evaluations, where characteristic patterns of cerebral circulatory arrest provided confirmatory evidence in time-sensitive clinical situations. As a repeatable bedside modality, it helped support ethical clinical decision-making and facilitated organ donation pathways.
Looking ahead, the hospital plans to integrate Transcranial Doppler into dedicated Stroke Prevention Clinics to strengthen early detection and secondary prevention strategies. Routine use of TCD for embolic signal monitoring, cerebral flow pattern analysis and post-intervention follow-up is expected to enable more personalised stroke risk assessment and optimisation of medical therapy.
