Vascular Studies
Vascular Studies
Vascular Studies include Venous and Arterial (Veins and Arteries) exams and are noninvasive (the skin is not pierced) procedures used to evaluate the blood flow in arteries and veins of the upper and lower extremities using a technology called Doppler (Color Flow).
What to Expect
A transducer (device similar to a microphone) sends out ultrasonic sound waves at a frequency too high to be heard. When the transducer is placed on the skin at certain locations and angles, the ultrasonic sound waves move through the skin and other body tissues to the blood vessels where it picks up the reflected waves and sends them to an amplifier, which makes the ultrasonic sound waves audible, and through ultrasonic technology, and image of the area of interest is produced.
Preparation
No special preparation is necessary. The procedure usually lasts about 30 minutes. After the exam, you may go home and go back to your normal activities.
Exams Performed
- ARTERIAL DOPPLER UPPER/LOWER EXTREMITIES
- VENOUS DOPPLER UPPER/LOWER EXTREMITIES
- CAROTID DOPPLER
- ECHO DOPPLER