Diagnostic Imaging Services

What are diagnostic imaging services?

Diagnostic imaging services utilize technology to help your doctor learn more about what’s going on inside your body. The specialists at Vascular Access Centers of New Orleans and North Shore use the following imaging studies to look for vascular diseases that can inhibit your blood flow:

• Ankle-brachial indices
• Deep vein thrombosis evaluations
• Vessel mapping for dialysis access
• Renal artery ultrasound
• Abdominal aortic ultrasounds
• Upper extremity arterial and venous ultrasound

The doctors and staff at Vascular Access Centers of New Orleans and North Shore use diagnostic imaging services to identify and treat vascular health issues. These painless and safe procedures provide images of your arteries and veins, which help the doctors examine your blood flow and diagnose problems that inhibit efficient circulation like peripheral arterial disease, venous insufficiency, and atherosclerosis.

Vascular Access Centers of New Orleans and North Shore offers several non-invasive diagnostic imaging services, including vessel mapping for dialysis access care, testing for deep vein thrombosis, as well as ultrasound and segmental pulse volume recordings.

How can diagnostic imaging services help vascular issues?

The physicians and staff at the Vascular Access Centers of New Orleans and North Shore use many noninvasive ultrasound techniques to diagnose and treat vascular health issues, including:

• Vascular ultrasound: captures present images of your arteries and veins. They usually use Doppler ultrasound techniques to test the blood flow through your arteries and veins.
• Lower extremity arterial ultrasound: evaluates circulation in your lower legs to test for peripheral arterial disease. They look for signs of narrowed arteries and monitor your blood flow.
• Venous insufficiency duplex: creates images of the veins in your legs to check for signs of venous insufficiency. This condition develops when the valves are weak in your peripheral veins.
• Cerebrovascular ultrasound: shows the arteries in your neck that send blood to your brain. Your technician inspects your neck to check for signs of narrowed arteries and atherosclerosis, identifying your risk of stroke.
• Intravascular ultrasound: creates highly detailed images of your arteries and veins. Your technician inserts a catheter to send the ultrasound waves through your blood vessels. It provides details about your lumen, vessel size, and plaque area and volume.

What types of circulatory problems can ultrasound help identify?

Doppler ultrasound, which an echocardiogram uses, creates images of the cardiovascular system to measure blood flow. This type of ultrasound can also assess the function of vein valves and:

• Examine blood vessel walls
• Evaluate plaque buildup and blood clots
• Evaluate blockages or narrow arteries
• Discover areas of greater-than-normal blood flow to different areas of your body

In addition to a Doppler ultrasound test, the doctors also offer a lower extremity arterial ultrasound to check for peripheral arterial disease, a venous insufficiency duplex scan to view blood as it flows back to your heart, and a carotid duplex (cerebrovascular) exam to look at blood flow from your neck to your brain.

Residents in the Greater Metairie and Covington, Louisiana areas trust their ultrasound diagnostic testing needs to the expert physicians and technicians at the Vascular Access Centers of New Orleans and North Shore. Call the office or schedule an appointment online.

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