What a Non-Invasive Vascular Assessment (NIVA) Is
Non-invasive vascular assessment (NIVA) is a type of exam that uses Doppler ultrasound to evaluate the circulatory system.
Ultrasound, also called sonography, is an exam that uses high-frequency sound waves far above the range of human hearing to obtain images of the inside of the body. Sound waves are directed at a particular area of the body. The different body tissues reflect the waves back in varying degrees. The echoed waves are recorded and displayed as a continuous real-time image on a computer monitor. Since the images are real-time, ultrasound has the benefit of allowing the radiologist to see organs in motion, such as the movement of heart valves and blood flow.
Doppler ultrasound has the advantage of providing information in various formats: audible sounds, continuous color images of the blood flow, and graphs showing changes in blood velocity.
Invision Sally Jobe offers NIVA at several of our outpatient centers in the South Denver
Metro area of Colorado.