Vascular~30–45 min
Vascular Ultrasound
A non-invasive scan that uses sound waves to evaluate blood flow and detect blockages in your arteries and veins.
Vascular duplex ultrasound combines B-mode imaging with Doppler flow analysis to assess arterial and venous disease — the primary non-invasive investigation for PAD, DVT, venous insufficiency, and pre-procedural vein mapping. Results are available immediately with no radiation.
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Vascular ultrasound provides real-time imaging of blood flow, enabling doctors to detect narrowed arteries and deep vein clots.
Seeing Blood Flow in Real Time
A vascular ultrasound, or duplex scan, does two things at once. The greyscale picture shows the vessel wall — plaque, a clot, a bulge — while the Doppler overlay measures the speed and direction of the blood moving through it, usually shown as colour and heard as a pulsing sound.
Put together, this tells us whether an artery is narrowed and by how much, whether a vein is blocked by a clot, and whether the valves inside a leg vein are leaking. It is painless, uses no radiation or dye, and the answer is available before you leave the room.
Put together, this tells us whether an artery is narrowed and by how much, whether a vein is blocked by a clot, and whether the valves inside a leg vein are leaking. It is painless, uses no radiation or dye, and the answer is available before you leave the room.
What the Scan Can Assess
One machine covers a wide range of arterial and venous problems:
- Narrowing or blockage in the leg arteries in peripheral arterial disease
- Deep vein thrombosis — over 95% accurate for a clot in the thigh veins
- Leaking vein valves that cause varicose veins, aching and skin changes
- An aneurysm — an abnormal widening — in the aorta or behind the knee
- Mapping the veins or arteries in detail before planning a procedure
What the Scan Is Like
You may be lying down or standing, depending on which vessels are being looked at — leg vein reflux, for instance, is best seen standing. Warm gel is applied and the probe is moved firmly over the skin, sometimes with gentle pressure to check whether a vein compresses normally. A full study takes 30 to 45 minutes. There is nothing to prepare unless we are scanning the abdominal aorta, when a few hours without food gives clearer pictures.
When We Recommend One in Singapore
A vascular ultrasound is the usual first test for:
- Leg pain on walking that eases with rest, or a leg that is cold, pale or slow to heal
- A painful, swollen calf where a clot needs to be excluded
- Varicose veins, leg swelling, or skin discolouration around the ankle
- Follow-up after bypass surgery, angioplasty or a stent
- Privately in Singapore a single-region duplex scan costs roughly SGD 250 to SGD 500
Getting Your Result
Dr. Chang performs or reviews the scan and explains it in the same visit. A normal study is genuinely reassuring. Where disease is found, the scan grades its severity and location precisely, which is often all that is needed to plan treatment — compression and skin care for mild venous disease, a supervised walking programme and medication for early arterial disease, or referral for angioplasty or vein ablation where the findings warrant it.
Vascular Ultrasound: Common Questions
Ready to Schedule Your Vascular Ultrasound?
Most evaluations are available on the same day as your consultation with Dr. Peter Chang at Paragon Medical Centre, Singapore.