Ultrasound

What is Ultrasound?
It’s a medical procedure that uses sound waves to “see” inside the body.

Ultrasound is used for:
• Study parts of the body, such as the heart, other organs and blood vessels in the neck, legs and arms.

Diagnosis
Ultrasound can help diagnose many medical conditions, such as cancer, gallbladder disease, blood clots.

Ultrasound is:

Simple
Ultrasound generally involved little or no discomfort and little patient preparation compared to many other procedures.

Effective
It is often used in place of other, more expensive examination methods-or surgery.

Safe
There are no known side effects. Ultrasound doesn’t require the use of radiation, special dyes or anesthesia.

How Ultrasound works
Ultrasound uses sound wave frequencies too high to be heard by humans.

1. A transducer a small microphone—like device—is placed over the area being examined.

2. Sound waves pass harmlessly through the skin from the transducer. The sound waves bounce off certain organs and tissues in the body. This creates “echoes.”

3. The echoes are reflected back through the transducer.

4. A monitor shows images as the transducer converts the echoes to electrical signals. These moving images may be viewed immediately, and recorded or photographed for further study.

Ultrasound is a useful tool.
It can detect, diagnose or monitor:

Abdominal disorders:
• Detect gallstones
• Check for problems in the liver, kidneys, pancreas or spleen.
• Monitor the success of a kidney transplant.

Blood vessel problems
• Enlargements in vessels that could burst and cause internal bleeding.
• A narrowing of the main artery leading to the brain, which could lead to stroke.
• Blood clots or other blockages in blood vessels in the legs and arms.

Cancer
• Locate lumps in organs or tissues—and can often show the difference between fluid-filled cysts and cancerous tumors.
• Guide needle biopsy (removal of tissue using a needle instead of surgery).

Pelvic disorders
Ultrasound can help determine the cause of pain or bleeding in women’s reproductive organs.

Other problems
• Examining the thyroid gland in the neck.

Ultrasound doesn’t travel through air or bone.
This means that Ultrasound is not useful for studying the lungs, adult brain or bone. The presence of gas in the intestines may also interfere with the imagining of some structures.

Preparing for an Ultrasound examination is easy.

Filling or emptying your bladder
Some Ultrasounds, such as transvaginal Ultrasound, work best when the bladder is empty. Others may require you to drink water and keep a full bladder.

Eating and drinking
For example, with abdominal exams, you may have to fast for several hours to eliminate gas.

What to wear
Wear comfortable, washable clothing. You may be given a hospital gown and asked to undress from the waist up or waist down.

During the exam
Try to relax! A standard Ultrasound exam is simple.

A health-care professional:
1. Positions you on an exam table
2. Applies a gel or liquid to the skin of the area being examined (to improve the quality of the images)
3. Passes the transducer several times over the area being examined. Depending on your exam, you may have to stay still, change positions, hold your breath or do simple breathing exercises.
4. Cleans off the gel or liquid, and has you get dressed.

Some other things you should know:

There is no pain involved with standard Ultrasound exams. However, you may feel:
• Mild pressure from the transducer
• Some discomfort from lying or sitting in certain positions
• Discomfort from having a full bladder.

Most exams take 15-60 minutes