Doppler Ultrasound - Pulsed Wave Spectral Doppler
Overview
This lecture focuses on Pulsed Wave (PW) spectral Doppler and the acquisition, display and interpretation of blood flow measurements. It explains how spectral Doppler can be used alongside B-mode and colour flow imaging to assess blood flow velocity, analyse haemodynamic changes and perform quantitative vascular measurements.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
- Describe how Pulsed Wave spectral Doppler is used to measure and display blood flow velocities in clinical ultrasound.
- Explain the purpose of the Doppler beam cursor, sample volume (gate) and angle correction when acquiring Doppler measurements.
- Apply appropriate beam steering and probe positioning techniques to obtain high-quality Doppler waveforms.
- Explain the importance of Doppler angle correction and recognise how errors in angle estimation can affect velocity measurements.
- Interpret the information displayed within a Doppler spectrum, including waveform shape, velocity distribution and spectral broadening.
- Describe common Doppler measurements including Peak Systolic Velocity (PSV), End Diastolic Velocity (EDV), Time Averaged Mean Velocity (TAMV), Resistive Index (RI) and Pulsatility Index (PI).
- Explain how scanner controls such as gain, scale (PRF), filter and sweep speed influence spectral Doppler appearance and measurement accuracy.
- Recognise common sources of Doppler measurement error, including aliasing, spectral broadening, inappropriate sample volume size and angle correction errors.
- Discuss the principles and limitations of volume flow measurement using Doppler ultrasound.
Lecture Details
- Duration: 53 minutes
- Series: Doppler Ultrasound and Blood Flow Measurement
- Provided by: Dr Colin Deane, King’s College London