Power Doppler is a sensitive medical test that detects blood flow through arteries. It is up to five times more sensitive than color Doppler ultrasound and can detect blockages in arteries and veins. It is safe and relatively quick to detect significant conditions.
Power Doppler is a highly sensitive medical test that detects blood flow through arteries. During a Doppler ultrasound, a specific area of the body is covered in a special Doppler gel and an instrument called a transducer is placed over the area. The sound waves are sent around the body and shunted by organs and blood cells, then picked up by a microphone and sent to a computer for analysis. Doctors can then detect blockages in the arteries in the abdomen, chest, head and neck, as well as in the arms and legs. The test is also used to check the health of developing fetuses.
Regular or irregular patterns of blood flow change the sounds you hear from the Power Doppler equipment. It is up to five times more sensitive than color Doppler ultrasound and can provide a picture of blood flow within organs. Images can also be amplified to a greater extent because there is less interfering noise which can distort the image after it has been processed. It is this feature of flow sensitivity that makes power Doppler so beneficial.
Power Doppler does not indicate the speed or direction in which blood moves within specific blood vessels. Although it is not sensitive to image noise due to signal amplification, movement of the body’s soft tissue can cause interference. There are additional systems that detect these movements and can erase them from Doppler imaging results.
Blockages in arteries and veins, such as plaque and clots, can be detected using Power Doppler. The Doppler test is also useful for showing how well blood is flowing back to the heart and brain. It is also able to show if blood is flowing normally within the transplanted organs. A high-pitched or turbulent sound occurs when an abnormality such as a blockage is detected and something interrupting blood flow can be seen as color changes on the computer screen.
Despite its ability to detect important problems, power Doppler is not an uncomfortable procedure. The cold of the gel is the only sensation felt, unless blood pressure cuffs are used, which can create a feeling of pressure. The procedure is completely safe and carries no risk of damaging organs or harming fetuses, and results are achieved relatively quickly to detect conditions that could be significant.
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