Method
A CCDS examination is a colour-coded duplex sonography, otherwise known as a vascular ultrasound.
These examinations are a reliable method for assessing arteries and veins. With this procedure almost all vessels of the body are examined, mainly morphology (e.g. vascular deposits) and flow conditions.
Patient information
- The CCDS examination procedure can be used in the area of the arteries supplying the brain, e.g. with ischemic-neurological symptoms such as apoplexy and falls, with dizziness, visual disturbances, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), with flow noises or unclearly pulsating tumours on the neck.
- CCDS examinations are also used for the purpose of monitoring the course of known stenoses (narrowing of the lumen of the arteries) and establishing the indication for angiography (vascular imaging) or for vascular surgical intervention.
- CCDS examinations are also used to assess peripheral arteries [arm and leg arteries] (excluding arterial circulatory disorders), for exact localisation of vascular processes, for vasodilatation (aneurysms) and for control after vascular surgery and in the case of traumatic vascular damage and compression syndromes.
- CCDS examinations are also used to assess peripheral veins (arm and leg veins) like superficial vein thrombosis, in varicose vein diseases and in compression syndromes.
- During CCDS examinations, pathological vascular processes in the abdominal area can also be recorded, such as aneurysm (enlargement) or stenosis (narrowing of the lumen) of the abdominal or renal arteries (with high blood pressure), thrombosis of the portal vein and other abdominal veins.
During a CCDS examination a gel is applied between the probe and the skin. You only feel a slight pressure of the probe and hear a faint signal. For a more precise analysis of the flow conditions, individual vessels are occasionally compressed by the examination practitioner's finger.
A CCDS examination only takes around 15 minutes and no special preparations are necessary for these vascular ultrasounds.