Patent ID: 6979294

Claim:
A method for obtaining vascular anatomical structure measurements, the measurements taken in substantially the same location of carotid arterial wall structure in each of a plurality of time-spaced-apart examinations, the method comprising: obtaining a first ultrasound image of a longitudinal section of a carotid artery, the image including a carotid bulb portion as a reference location; storing the first ultrasound image as a prior examination image in a memory store; obtaining a second ultrasound image of a longitudinal section of a carotid artery, the image including a carotid bulb portion as a reference location; displaying the second image in a first half of a split-screen display; retrieving the first image from the memory store; displaying the first image in a second half of the split-screen display; manipulating an ultrasound transducer until the second image visually matches the first image; and performing a vascular anatomical structure measurement on an arterial wall portion of the carotid distal to the carotid bulb on the first ultrasound image.