Use of directional Doppler flow meter in noninvasive evaluation of aortoiliac segment

Noninvasive peripheral arterial studies that include analysis of the Doppler velocity waveform from the common femoral artery can be helpful to the clinician in treatment of patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities. A normal waveform, one that demonstrates a reverse flow component in early diastole, is a highly accurate indication of a normal lumen of the aortoiliac artery. An abnormal waveform, one that lacks reverse flow, indicates a severe stenosis or occlusion in the more proximal arterial segment, a totally occluded superficial femoral artery with a severe stenosis of the deep femoral artery, or a technical error. When the clinical findings are correlated with noninvasive laboratory data, it is possible to distinguish which of these three abnormal situations exist in a given patient.