Patent ID: 7074187

Claim:
A method for accurately replicating ultrasound images of vascular structure, taken at spaced-apart examination intervals, so as to develop a set of substantially congruent sequential images of the vascular structure, the method comprising: orienting a patient position such that a first side of the neck is exposed and the head is counter-rotated about 45 degrees; positioning an ultrasound transducer so as to develop a transverse image view through a neck section chosen to contain a visualization of a carotid artery and a jugular vein; displaying the transverse view on a split-screen display; manipulating transducer position and angulation until the jugular vein and carotid artery are displayed in a substantially vertical stack orientation, the stack defining an approximate vertical axis through a center of the jugular and a center of the carotid; and rotating the transducer through about 90 degrees around the approximate vertical axis, so as to develop a longitudinal image view along a length of the carotid artery, while maintaining the jugular vein and the carotid artery in the substantially stacked orientation.