Integrated peripheral vascular diagnostic system and method therefor

An integrated, peripheral vascular diagnostic system electronically linking a doppler ultrasound unit generating ultrasound doppler data signals and at least one from the group consisting of a pulse volume recorder (PVR), an ocular pneumoplethysmograph (OPG), a photoplethysmograph (PPG), and an audio frequency analysis (AA) unit for characterizing blood flow with a sensitive microphone, each respectively generating PVR, OPG, PPG, and AA data signals, the integrated diagnostic system comprising:

• means for electronically acquiring, obtaining and converting said data signals into an initial set of digital data signals;
• a computer system including a processor, a memory, a keypad input device, a display monitor, a printer and means for interfacing together said processor, said memory, said keypad, said display monitor, said printer and said means for obtaining and converting said data signals;
• a data compilation means for compiling said initial set of digital data signals and keypad entry data into said memory, said keypad entry data entered into said computer system via said keypad, said data compilation means incorporated into said computer system, said data compilation means compiling and initially storing said initial set of digital data signals substantially concurrently with the acquisition of said data signals by said means for acquiring, obtaining and converting;
• and,
• a report generator means, as part of said computer system, for generating at a time subsequent to the initial storage of said initial set of digital data signals and not during data acquisition, displaying at a time subsequent to the initial storage of said initial set of digital data signals and not during data acquisition, and printing at a time subsequent to the initial storage of said initial set of digital data signals a plurality of vascular diagnostic reports from said digital data signals and said keypad data from said data compilation means;
• an analog playback means, as past of said report generator means, for simultaneously presenting both a visual analog version of said initial set of digital data signals and an audio analog version of said initial set of digital data signals;
• and,
• means for selecting, during the presentation, a portion of said stored initial set of digital data signals to be included in said vascular diagnostic report, said report generator means including means for storing said vascular diagnostic report with said selected portion of digital data signals.