Ultrasound is a diagnostic technique that involves bouncing high-frequency sound waves off structures within the body. When the sound waves bounce back, it produces an image of the internal structures. Ultrasound has been around for several decades and has many useful applications for diagnosing injury and illness.
What Type of Equipment Is Used?
Ultrasound equipment Miami FL consists of a transducer, which is usually a handheld wand that first transmits the high-frequency sound waves and then collects them when they are reflected back. The transducer is connected to a computer console where it sends the data collected. The console then interprets the data and produces an image. This is often available in real time.
How Does the Transducer Work?
In most cases, the transducer remains outside the body on the surface of the skin. The skin is prepared with water-based gel that helps to reduce air pockets and makes sure the contact is secure. After the procedure, the gel is wiped away.
Sometimes to collect the data, the transducer must be placed in a natural opening in the body, such as the esophagus. The transducer is then attached to a probe and inserted into the body through the appropriate orifice.
What Are the Advantages of Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is useful where X-rays would be unsafe, impractical, or ineffective. For example, ultrasound is often more effective at gathering images of soft tissue structures that may not show up on X-ray. Ultrasound also doesn’t expose the patient to radiation.
How Is Ultrasound Used?
One of the most well-known uses of ultrasound is to gather data about an unborn baby developing in the womb. X-rays are not used because the radiation could harm a fetus, and ultrasound produces a more complete picture while X-rays would only image the baby’s skeleton.
Ultrasound is also sometimes used for breast evaluation in women under the age of 40 with dense tissue that could make mammogram impractical. If there is a lump in the breast, or another area of the body, that could be malignant, a needle biopsy to collect tissue for testing is sometimes performed under ultrasound guidance.
