Triplex ultrasound: elasticity imaging to age deep venous thrombosis.

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and its sequela, pulmonary embolism (PE), is the leading cause of preventable in-hospital mortality in the USA and other developed countries. After it is detected, acute clots must be differentiated from chronic DVT for appropriate treatment. However, there are no reliable thrombus staging methods presently available in clinical practice. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that blood clots can be detected and staged using a triplex ultrasound (US) test. Triplex US is based on a "gold standard" duplex US technique augmented by US-based reconstructive elasticity imaging. Fibrin-composed blood clots harden with development and organization. By imaging clot elasticity, it may be possible to both detect and differentiate clots and, therefore, provide an urgently needed noninvasive means of DVT staging.