An ultrasound scan is a medical test that uses high-frequency sound waves to capture

live images from the inside

of your body. It’s also known as sonography.

The technology is similar to that used by sonar and radar, which help the military
detect planes and ships.
An ultrasound allows your doctor to see problems with organs, vessels, and tissues
without needing to make an
incision.

Unlike other imaging techniques, ultrasound uses no radiation. For this reason, it’s
the preferred method for
viewing a developing fetus during pregnancy.

An ultrasound can provide a view of the:

bladder
brain (in infants)
eyes
gallbladder
kidneys
liver
ovaries
pancreas
spleen
thyroid
testicles
uterus
blood vessels
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How to prepare for an ultrasound:
Your doctor may tell you to fast for eight to 12 hours before your ultrasound,
especially if your abdomen is being examined.
Undigested food can block the sound waves, making it difficult for the technician
to get a clear picture.

Be sure to tell your doctor about any prescription drugs, over-the-counter

medications, or herbal supplements that you take before the exam.

It’s important to follow your doctor’s instructions and ask any questions you may
have before the procedure.

An ultrasound carries minimal risks. Unlike X-rays or CT scans, ultrasounds use no

radiation. For this reason,
they are the preferred method for examining a developing fetus during pregnancy.
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How an ultrasound is performed:
Before the exam, you will change into a hospital gown. You will most likely be lying
down on a table with a
section of your body exposed for the test.

An ultrasound technician, called a sonographer, will apply a special lubricating

jelly to your skin. This prevents friction so they can rub the ultrasound transducer
on your skin.
The transducer has a similar appearance to a microphone. The jelly also helps
transmit the sound waves.

The transducer sends high-frequency sound waves through your body. The waves echo as
they hit a dense object,
such as an organ or bone. Those echoes are then reflected back into a computer. The
sound waves are at too high
of a pitch for the human ear to hear. They form a picture that can be interpreted by
the doctor.

Depending on the area being examined, you may need to change positions so the
technician can have better access.

After the procedure, the gel will be cleaned off of your skin. The whole procedure
typically lasts less than 30
minutes, depending on the area being examined. You will be free to go about your
normal activities after the
procedure has finished.

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How Do the Work:

The image produced is called a sonogram.

The person who performs an ultrasound scan is called a sonographer, but the images
are interpreted by radiologists, cardiologists, or other specialists.

The sonographer usually holds a transducer, a hand-held device, like a wand, which
is placed on the patient’s skin.

Ultrasound is sound that travels through soft tissue and fluids, but it bounces
back, or echoes, off denser surfaces. This is how it creates an image.

The term “ultrasound” refers to sound with a frequency that humans cannot hear.

For diagnostic uses, the ultrasound is usually between 2 and 18 megahertzTrusted

Source (MHz).

Higher frequencies provide better quality images but are more readily absorbed by
the skin and other tissue, so they cannot penetrate as deeply as lower
frequencies.
Lower frequencies penetrate deeper, but the image quality is inferior.

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How does it capture an image?
Ultrasound will travel through blood in the heart chamber, for example, but if it
hits a heart valve, it will echo, or bounce back.

It will travel straight through the gallbladder if there are no gallstones, but if
there are stones, it will bounce back from them.

The denser the object the ultrasound hits, the more of the ultrasound bounces back.

This bouncing back, or echo, gives the ultrasound image its features. Varying shades
of gray reflect different densities.

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An ultrasound scan can reveal whether a lump is a tumor. This could be cancerous, or
a fluid-filled cyst.

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!!External ultrasound
The sonographer puts a lubricating gel onto the patient’s skin and places a
transducer over the lubricated skin.

The transducer is moved over the part of the body that needs to be examined.
Examples include ultrasound examinations of a patient’s heart or a fetus in the
uterus.

The patient should not feel discomfort or pain. They will just feel the transducer
over the skin.

During pregnancy, there may be slight discomfort because of the full bladder.

!!Internal ultrasound
If the internal reproductive organs or urinary system need to be evaluated, the
transducer may be placed in the rectum for a man or in the vagina for a woman.

To evaluate some part of the digestive system, for example, the esophagus, the chest
lymph nodes, or the stomach, an endoscope may be used.

A light and an ultrasound device are attached to the end of the endoscope, which
inserted into the patient’s body, usually through the mouth.

Before the procedure, patients are given medications to reduce any pain.
Internal ultrasound scans are less comfortable than external ones, and there is a
slight risk of internal bleeding.

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Advantage of ultrasound guided regional anesthesia methods.

High success rate

Safe performance of blocks
Direct visualization of neuronal and adjacent anatomical structures
Direct visualization of needle placement and spread of local anesthetics
The individual blocks are cheaper in comparison with other techniques in regional
anesthesia
Amortization of high standard ultrasound equipment after 2500 blocks due to high
success rates (with very low conversion rates to alternative anesthesia methods),
low rate of complication (when the techniques are used appropriately), lower volume
of local anesthetics, cheaper needle material.
Disadvantages associated with ultrasound guided regional anesthesia method.

High sophisticated additional education necessary

High initial costs of education and equipment

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why ultrasound

Breast ultrasound uses sound waves to make a computer picture of the inside of the
breast.
It can show certain breast changes, like fluid-filled cysts, that are harder to
identify on mammograms.

Ultrasound is useful because it can often tell the difference between fluid-filled
cysts (which are very unlikely to be cancer)
and solid masses (which might need further testing to be sure they're not cancer).

Ultrasound can also be used to help guide a biopsy needle into an area so that cells
can be taken out and tested for cancer. This can also be done in swollen lymph nodes
under the arm.

Ultrasound is widely available, easy to have, and does not expose a person to
radiation. It also costs less than a lot of other options.
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Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is an option that uses a much larger transducer
to take hundreds of images that cover nearly the entire breast.
When ABUS is done, a second handheld ultrasound is often needed to get more
pictures of suspicious areas.