Our vascular lab equipment analyzes blood flow in arteries, veins and organs such as the kidneys. This non-invasive vascular testing is generally painless (the ultrasound probe does apply gentle pressure to the skin) and can provide early detection of abnormalities in the arteries and veins. It provides real-time dynamic information about blood flow in a way that still images (such as provided by CT scans or MRI) cannot.
A Registered Vascular Technologist performs your vascular diagnostic evaluation in a comfortable, relaxed setting. The procedure is simple: a gel is placed on the skin or on a hand-held ultrasound probe. Your technologist moves this hand-held probe over your skin to receive ultrasound images. Depending on the study, you will be in our office from 1/2 to 2 hours. Exceptional test accuracy helps physicians evaluate the presence and severity of vascular disease.
We fax your preliminary results to your referring physician within 24 hours and send a final report within a few days of your test, after a final interpretation has been performed by one of our physicians. If we identify a serious condition, we will immediately call your physician. If you will be seeing one of our providers (surgeon, nurse practitioner/ARNP, or certified physician assistant/PA-C), he or she will review the test results with you at your next appointment. If you are not scheduled to see one of our providers, your referring physician will be able to review the results with you.
Lake Washington Vascular invests in the newest technology. This increases the accuracy of your tests. We have seven GE Logiq 9 ultrasound machines that produce clear and accurate images. We also use treadmill testing to reproduce the effects of walking on arterial blood flow to the legs.
Our commitment to education and professional certification is unparalleled in the Puget Sound region. All of our vascular technologists have four-year bachelor degrees in vascular ultrasound and are certified by the Society of Vascular Ultrasound. Aaron Ebert, laboratory Technical Director, is a faculty member and externship site coordinator for the Oregon Institute of Technology. Each year, externship students from the Oregon Institute of Technology receive 12 months of clinical training at our facility.
Lake Washington Vascular Laboratory is credentialed by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) for the performance of Cerebrovascular, Peripheral Arterial, Peripheral Venous, and Visceral Vascular non-invasive testing. IAC was formed in 1990 to assure accuracy and standards for the performance of non-invasive vascular studies.
Drs. Pepper, Gibson, Ferris, Minjarez, Rinehardt and Inagaki are the medical directors of the laboratory.