Summer BanksUltrasound and working
August 3rd 2006 23:50
Ultrasound 3-Dimension images
Parts of an Ultrasound
Ultrasound defined :
Ultrasound or ultrasonography is a medical imaging technique that uses high frequency sound waves and their echoes. The technique is similar to the echolocation used by bats, whales and dolphins, as well as SONAR used by submarines. In ultrasound, the following events happen:
The ultrasound machine transmits high-frequency (1 to 5 megahertz) sound pulses into your body using a probe.
The sound waves travel into your body and hit a boundary between tissues (e.g. between fluid and soft tissue, soft tissue and bone).
The reflected waves are picked up by the probe and relayed to the machine.
The machine calculates the distance from the probe to the tissue or organ (boundaries) using the speed of sound in tissue (5,005 ft/s or1,540 m/s) and the time of the each echo's return (usually on the order of millionths of a second).
The machine displays the distances and intensities of the echoes on the screen, forming a two dimensional image.
The Ultrasound Machine :
A basic ultrasound machine has the following parts:
transducer probe - probe that sends and receives the sound waves
central processing unit (CPU) - computer that does all of the calculations and contains the electrical power supplies for itself and the transducer probe
transducer pulse controls - changes the amplitude, frequency and duration of the pulses emitted from the transducer probe
display - displays the image from the ultrasound data processed by the CPU
keyboard/cursor - inputs data and takes measurements from the display
disk storage device (hard, floppy, CD) - stores the acquired images
printer - prints the image from the displayed data.
Major Uses of Ultrasound :
Ultrasound has been used in a variety of clinical settings, including obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology and cancer detection. The main advantage of ultrasound is that certain structures can be observed without using radiation. Ultrasound can also be done much faster than X-rays or other radiographic techniques. Here is a short list of some uses for ultrasound:
Obstetrics and Gynecology :
measuring the size of the fetus to determine the due date
determining the position of the fetus to see if it is in the normal head down position or breech.
checking the position of the placenta to see if it is improperly developing over the opening to the uterus (cervix)
seeing the number of fetuses in the uterus.
checking the sex of the baby (if the genital area can be clearly seen)
checking the fetus's growth rate by making many measurements over time
detecting ectopic pregnancy, the life-threatening situation in which the baby is implanted in the mother's Fallopian tubes instead of in the uterus
determining whether there is an appropriate amount of amniotic fluid cushioning the baby.
monitoring the baby during specialized procedures - ultrasound has been helpful in seeing and avoiding the baby during amniocentesis (sampling of the amniotic fluid with a needle for genetic testing). Years ago, doctors use to perform this procedure blindly; however, with accompanying use of ultrasound, the risks of this procedure have dropped dramatically.
seeing tumors of the ovary and breast.
Cardiology :
seeing the inside of the heart to identify abnormal structures or functions
measuring blood flow through the heart and major blood vessels
Urology :
measuring blood flow through the kidney.
seeing kidney stones.
detecting prostate cancer early.
Dangers of Ultrasound :
There have been many concerns about the safety of ultrasound. Because ultrasound is energy, the question becomes "What is this energy doing to my tissues or my baby?" There have been some reports of low birthweight babies being born to mothers who had frequent ultrasound examinations during pregnancy. The two major possibilities with ultrasound are as follows:
development of heat - tissues or water absorb the ultrasound energy which increases their temperature locally.
formation of bubbles (cavitation) - when dissolved gases come out of solution due to local heat caused by ultrasound.
However, there have been no substantiated ill-effects of ultrasound documented in studies in either humans or animals. This being said, ultrasound should still be used only when necessary (i.e. better to be cautious).
The future of Ultrasound :
As with other computer technology, ultrasound machines will most likely get faster and have more memory for storing data. Transducer probes may get smaller, and more insertable probes will be developed to get better images of internal organs. Most likely, 3D ultrasound will be more highly developed and become more popular. The entire ultrasound machine will probably get smaller, perhaps even hand-held for use in the field (e.g. paramedics, battlefield triage). One exciting new area of research is the development of ultrasound imaging combined with heads-up/virtual reality-type displays that will allow a doctor to "see" inside you as he/she is performing a minimally invasive or non-invasive procedure such as amniocentesis or biopsy.
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