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Ultrasonography
Mikayla Reeves
Physics 1010
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What is Ultrasonography?
Ultrasonography is a type of medical procedure that allows us to view the
inside of an object/species by using sound waves. It is used to help diagnose
causes of pain, swelling, and or infection in the human body. The most
common procedure using medical sonography would be to examine a fetus
in a pregnant woman. Sonography is safe, painless, and non-invasive and
unlike X-rays, does not use harmful radiation.

Medical sonography involves the use of a small transducer accompanied with

ultrasound gel placed directly onto the skin. High frequency sound waves are
transmitted from the transducer, through the gel, and into the body. The
transducer collects the sounds that bounce back and the computer then
generates an image. I found a very detailed explanation of how this whole
process works on encyclopedia.com. Their words on the subject is as follows,
The transducer is made up of a plastic or ceramic material that has
piezoelectric properties. This means that it is capable of generating and
detecting ultrasound waves. If pulses of electric current are applied to the
surface of a transducer, the piezoelectric surface will change in thickness in
response to the pulses. This change in thickness causes a change in pressure
in the molecules surrounding the piezoelectric surface, generating sound
waves. If the pulses occur between one and 15 million times a second, then
the result is a sound wave with an ultrasonic frequency. Similarly, the
piezoelectric surface acts as a receptor for return waves. When sound waves
collide with the piezoelectric surface, they cause a change in its thickness.
This change in thickness is converted to a change in the electric current in
the transducer, which is then interpreted as various shades of gray and used
to form an image on the display unit. The electronics of the transducer are
constructed so that ultrasound beams are generated, followed by a pause
during which the return waves are detected; this cycle continues during the
entire diagnostic procedure.
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I was curious on what the true reason was for the gel was for during an
ultrasound. I looked online and found that the reason for the gel is to be used
as a contact medium between the tissue of the body and the ultrasound
head. A conductor for the sound waves if you will. As learned in physics
class, sound travels much faster and clearer through water than in air. The
gel is there to lessen the static and help the sound waves flow more
efficiently. So the use for the gel is not in fact for lubrication between the
body and the transducer.

The History of Ultrasonography

Nowadays its hard to imagine a pregnancy without a trip to the doctor to get
an ultrasound, but did you know that these have only been around since the
mid 1950s? Ultrasound was first used for clinical purposes in a Glasgow
1956 and was created and perfected by Obstetrician Ian Donald and
engineer Tom Brown. The use didnt actually take off until the 1970s when
American hospitals began to use them more routinely. By the end of the 20th
century, ultrasound imaging had become routine in maternity clinics
throughout the world.

Use of Ultrasound in the Animal Kingdom

Humans are mainly sight centric. Meaning that we experience the world
mainly through our eyes. However, other animals in the animal kingdom use
ultrasound or sonar waves to detect things in their environment. This is also
known as echolocation. The most common species we hear about doing so
are bats, and marine animals such as dolphins and whales. Bats emit pulses
of high-pitched sounds, beyond the range of human hearing, and then listen
for the echoes that are produced when these sound waves bounce off objects
around them. Bats can also use echoes to tell the direction an object is
moving. Whales and dolphins use echolocation to locate things at long
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distances, beyond the range of vision, and also in the depths of the ocean
where it is very dark. Whales use echolocation for navigation and to locate
food. Dolphins emit clicks with their nasal tissue and use the echoes to find
their way around and to hunt. They also use echolocation to communicate
with other members of their group and to avoid predators.

Humans Can Use Echolocation as well

There is a blind man named Daniel Kish Who learned as a young boy to use
rapid clicking noises to navigate his way around the world. Every surface
has its own acoustic signature I can recognize a tree, for example, because
the trunk produces a different echo from the leaves. The hard wood reflects
the sound, whereas the leaves reflect and refract, too, scattering the sound
waves. Everything around me becomes identifiable with a click. It provides
me with a 3D image in my mind with depth, character and richness; it brings
light into darkness (Kish, 2013). Kish does not go around clicking like a
madman. He uses his click sparingly and, depending on his location, varies
the volume. When he's outside, he'll throw a loud click. In good conditions,
he can hear a building 1,000 feet away, a tree from 30 feet, a person from
six feet. Up close, he can echolocate a one-inch diameter pole. He can tell
the difference between a pickup truck, a passenger car, and an SUV. He can
locate trail signs in the forest, then run his finger across the engraved letters
and determine which path to take. Every house, he explains, has its own
acoustic signature.
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Works Cited
Ultrasonography. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from
http://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/divisions-diagnostics-and-
procedures/medicine/ultrasound

Finkel, M. (2012, May 04). The Blind Man Who Taught Himself to See.
Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/the-
blind-man-who-taught-himself-to-see-20120504

Kish, D. (2013, July 13). Experience: I taught myself to see. Retrieved April
05, 2017, from
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/13/experience-blindness-
echolocation-daniel-kish

Lewis, T. (2013, May 16). 5 Fascinating Facts About Fetal Ultrasounds.

Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://www.livescience.com/32071-history-of-
fetal-ultrasound.html

Writer, L. G. (n.d.). Animals That Use Echolocation. Retrieved April 05, 2017,
from http://sciencing.com/animals-use-echolocation-8576794.html

Routson, M. (2016, April 28). Why it Is Important to Use Gel in Ultrasound.

Retrieved April 05, 2017, from https://healdove.com/health-care-
industry/aquasonic_ultrasound_gel

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and American College of

Radiology (ACR). (n.d.). Ultrasound (Sonography). Retrieved April 05, 2017,
from https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=genus
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