Venous duplex scanning can be divided into two different subcategories: (1) scanning to diagnose thrombus and (2) scanning to diagnose incompetence. Venous incompetence testing is used to assess the physiology of the superficial and deep venous systems, making it a much more complex and time-consuming test, primarily because sonographers need to take into consideration the great number of anatomical variations of the superficial venous system, venous flow patterns, as well as physiology. To perform these examinations efficiently and to obtain consistent results, it is imperative to standardize protocols and to break down these examinations into manageable components.
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