Artery ultrasound is a branch of vascular imaging that utilizes high-frequency sound waves to image the vasculature. Artery ultrasound is useful in a variety of clinical settings, including assessing vascular abnormalities, detecting coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases, and detecting abnormalities of the aorta such as aneurysms.

Artery ultrasound is a relatively new imaging modality that utilizes high-frequency sound waves to image the vasculature. Artery ultrasound, also referred to as intravascular ultrasound, is useful in a variety of clinical settings, including assessing vascular abnormalities, detecting coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases, and detecting abnormalities of the aorta such as aneurysms.

What is Artery Ultrasound?

Artery ultrasound is a branch of vascular imaging that utilizes high-frequency sound waves to image the vasculature. Artery ultrasound is useful in a variety of clinical settings, including assessing vascular abnormalities, detecting coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases, and detecting abnormalities of the aorta such as aneurysms.

Given the overlap in conditions that are clinically important for both procedures, it's often beneficial to perform both arterial and arterial ultrasound at the same time. This allows your clinician more flexibility when treating patients who may have a variety of conditions requiring different treatments depending on their findings.

Artery Ultrasound Imaging Modalities

Artery ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to image the vasculature. Artery ultrasound is one of several modalities that use ultrasound, which is a non-invasive imaging technique. Other modalities that use ultrasound are echocardiography and cardiac MRI, which both have their own advantages and limitations.

Artery ultrasound uses sound waves in the frequency range of 1 MHz to 2MHz to generate an image of the blood vessels systemically. The sound waves are transmitted through the body from a probe placed on the skin or inserted into blood vessel segments.

Echocardiography and cardiac MRI require intravenous contrast injection to visualize vascular structures. There are two main types of arterial ultrasonography: parasternal views (occurring at the heart base) and apical views (occurring at the aortic arch).

Artery Ultrasound: Where is it useful?

Artery ultrasound is a relatively new imaging modality that utilizes high-frequency sound waves to image the vasculature. It is useful in a variety of clinical settings, including assessing vascular abnormalities, detecting coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases, and detecting abnormalities of the aorta such as aneurysms.

In addition to its diagnostic and therapeutic applications, artery ultrasound may also be used for research purposes. Artery ultrasound can be helpful in evaluating vascular anatomy, especially with regards to the innervation of arteries by studying arterial wall motion and pulse wave velocity in patients with aortic stenosis. The technique is also useful for preoperative planning in patients with atherosclerotic disease or those undergoing cardiac surgery.

How is Artery Ultrasound Performed?

Intravascular ultrasound is performed by passing sound waves through a catheter inserted into an artery. The waves are then bounced off the walls of the blood vessel and collected by a transducer to produce an image. These imaging techniques provide high-quality images in comparison to other methods such as angiography, which is limited due to the need for contrast dyes.

The technique is used to assess vascular abnormalities, such as coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases and identify anomalies of the aorta such as aneurysms.

How is Artery Ultrasound Diagnosed?

Artery ultrasound is a relatively new imaging modality, and there are no specific diagnostic criteria. Artery ultrasound is useful in a variety of clinical settings, including assessing vascular abnormalities, detecting coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases, and detecting abnormalities of the aorta such as aneurysms.

Artery ultrasound for diagnosis should be explained to the patient including how it works and what to expect. Patients will also be asked about their medical history if any risk factors for vasculitis exists. The patient's chest may be imaged with different views depending on what part of the body is being examined. These views include the anterior-posterior (AP) projection to evaluate vascular anatomy, the lateral projection to assess vascular pathology or evaluation of blood flow through the heart or lungs, and transverse projection to assess abdominal organs.

In addition to these three views, the images may also be displayed in color or in black-and-white.

Key Takeaway

Artery ultrasound is a new imaging modality that utilizes high-frequency sound waves to image the vasculature. Artery ultrasound, also referred to as intravascular ultrasound, is useful in a variety of clinical settings, including assessing vascular abnormalities, detecting coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases, and detecting abnormalities of the aorta such as aneurysms.