W. Mess
University Hospital – Maastricht, Netherlands

It has been shown for different patient categories that the detection of microembolic signals (MES) in the middle cerebral artery helps to estimate the risk of future cerebrovascular events. The strength of the evidence for this relationship differs for the different clinical situations. So, the question whether automated MES detection should be applied in the daily clinical context depends not only on the adequacy of the detection system. However, a properly functional system is a prerequisite for its succesful clinical application. This comprises not only the correct identification of MES in the transcranial Doppler signal but also the ease of use. Only if both criteria are fulfilled automated MES detection is likely to be used in clinical practice. Several automated MES detection systems are currently commercially available.