The most common Doppler mode you will use is color Doppler. This mode allows you to see the movement of blood in arteries and veins with blue and red patterns on the ultrasound screen.
A common question that comes up with color Doppler is: What do the colors on ultrasound mean? The answer is: RED means there is flow TOWARDS the ultrasound probe and BLUE means that there is flow AWAY from the ultrasound probe. It is a misconception that red is arterial and blue is venous. It actually just depends on the direction blood is flowing relative to the angle of your ultrasound beam.
An easy way to remember this is to use the BART mnemonic: Blue AWAY, Red TOWARDS.
Color Doppler Steps:
- Color Doppler Step 1: Activate Color Doppler
- Color Doppler Step 2: Adjust Color Doppler Area
- Color Doppler Step 3: Adjust Color Doppler Scale
- Color Doppler Step 4:Adjust Color Doppler Gain
